The Aura
by VoltageXD
Summary: A teen nerd named Drew is sent to the Pokémon world and transformed into a Lucario. There, he meets a young trainer named Val. Together, they take on the Kalos Region's Gyms, while Drew searches for why he was sent to the Pokémon world. In doing so, the duo accidentally discover a dark secret hidden beneath the shiny exterior of the Pokémon League. Rated T - some moderate violence.
1. Chapter I - The Nerd

I never believed all the things that TV and mainstream media said about high school. I never believed that there could be social cliques, 'popular' people, and the one kid who bullies everyone and rules the hallways. Boy... was I wrong.

High school was one of the worst places I have ever been. Everybody judges you, even your own friends. The teachers don't even try to hide their favoritism for certain students. And it was even worse for me, because I was a complete social outcast. The lower class. The bottom of the barrel. The - well, let me sum it up for you.

The nerd.

Yep, that's me. Drew Davis, the one-and-only. It's not my fault I'm a geek. I just happen to like stuff that the popular people see as weird. What's wrong with that?

Well, apparently, everything is wrong with that. Today I was sitting in the principal's office, holding a tissue to my nose that had been savagely punched by the mainstream high school bully, Zander 'Left Hook' Bellworth. He got his nickname from the time he punched a Junior so hard that the poor guy had to go to the emergency room to get his jaw fixed. I felt extremely lucky that I hadn't ended up on a stretcher.

The principal was sort-of terrifying, and he looked like more of a movie villain than a school leader. He was bald and wore glasses that made his sea-blue eyes somehow more intimidating. He was always in a black or gray suit, with a blue or red tie. He was the kind of person you don't want to get on the wrong side of - which was very easy to do.

"So you're telling me," said the principal, looking me in the eyes, "that Zander punched you for carrying around a 'DS', whatever that is... And talking about, quote, 'nerdy stuff'?"

"Yes," I said, lifting the bloody cloth away from my nose. "He said it was the reason I wasn't popular."

"I see," the principal replied. "And do you have any proof besides your messed-up nose?"

"Well-" I began, "-Uh, not... exactly..."

"Well, let's get Zander in here and see what he says."

The principal swiveled his chair around to the microphone. As he made the announcement for Zander to come down to the principal's office, I looked out the window. I could just make out my reflection. I didn't wear glasses like a normal nerd does, but I wasn't exactly "hot". With my long, dirty blond hair, freckles, and a touch of acne, people could tell what I was from across the hallway. My bright, emerald eyes often attracted negative attention. Especially from Zander, who said that he was nearly blinded by my eyes every time he looked at me.

Zander arrived, a smug look on his face. He was abnormally tall, and he had black hair that rested on his shoulders and looked like it hadn't been washed in years. He had a half-shadow of a goatee on his chin. His brown eyes reflected little intelligence.

"Please have a seat, Zander," said the principal, gesturing to the open chair next to me. Zander sat.

"Now, Zander, I want you to answer me honestly," said the principal, looking at Zander with an utterly emotionless expression. "Did you really punch Drew because of what he owned?"

"You think I would do that?" Zander answered, in a surprisingly good imitation of shock. "I would never hurt a hair on this kid's head!"

He looked at me, and I saw the tiniest smile appear on his lips.

"Well, how do you explain his nose?" asked the principal.

"Heck if I know," replied Zander. "Maybe he ran into a pole of something."

Pure hate flamed through me. I wanted to give Zander a dirty look, but it's kind of hard to pull that off when you're holding a tissue up to your nose.

"Alright," said the principal. He turned to me. "I don't appreciate being lied to, Drew."

"Wait-" I started.

"Quiet! I've had enough of this. Detention, this Friday."

I didn't say another word. The principal, however, had more to say.

"Now, you both... get out of my office."

I threw the tissue into the garbage as I left, wishing that I could do something to fight back. But, I was just a nerd. There was nothing I could do. Heck, Taylor Swift had muscles larger than I did. For some reason, everyone idolized Zander. Attacking him would only result in my funeral.

The rest of the day was absolute torture. The thought of facing detention in a couple of days was killing me. I couldn't focus in my classes, even during math. I just didn't feel like simplifying square roots.

At long last, the final bell ended. I hurried to my locker before any bullies could catch up to me. I was just taking out my backpack when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

Dread swept over me. Zander was back, and he wanted revenge for me almost getting him in trouble.

"Please, just leave me alone," I said as I turned around. I wasn't met with Zander, though.

"Well, that was a warm welcome. It's great to see you, too," said my best friend (and my only friend), Julius.

"Oh, thank goodness it's you," I sighed. "I thought you were-"

"I know," Julius replied. He had his arms crossed, and his icy blue eyes were looking at mine. "So, are we hanging out today, or what?"

"Oh, yeah!" I said. "Come on, let's get a seat on the bus before they're all gone."

We walked out of the building, talking about what we always do - video games. Particularly Pokémon. I didn't know why I had such a fondness for the game. I thought maybe it was the strategy, the competition with Julius, or something. I just liked it. That day, we were having an argument over the usefulness of the Pokémon Kangaskhan.

"I seriously think that Kangaskhan is on of the best Pokémon out there," Julius said.

"No way," I replied. "It's Special Attack stat is laughable. Plus, it's a Normal type. It's not super effective on anything!"

"Whatever, I still like her," said Julius, rolling his eyes.

We boarded the bus and sat down in the very back which was, unusually, empty. I pulled my 3DS out of my pocket and started it up.

Soon, people began to fill the seats in front of ours. The bus jerked a few minutes later, and we were on our way home. The bus ride home was pretty quick. Julius waved as he drove off in the bus, towards his house.

I sighed. No one really respected me in my house, either. My little brother had long since outgrown Pokémon, so I didn't have anyone to battle or trade with. My parents thought I was mentally stuck in puberty. I just felt like no one but Julius understood me.

"I'm home!" I called to anyone who would listen, throwing my bag onto the couch.

"Help yourself to anything in the fridge!" my mom called back. I complied, taking out a cold slice of pizza and turning on the TV.

"Obama has-"

I immediately changed the channel. Animal Planet was doing a special about killer wasps, which I watched for a while, before the phone rang.

"Julius!" I said. I picked up the phone.

"Hey, it's me," said Julius. "Where are you? You. Me. Animal Crossing. Now."

"Got it," I said, grabbing my 3DS and my copy of Animal Crossing. I also brought some pajamas and a change of clothes, just in case I was sleeping over. I didn't even bother saying goodbye to my family, who I was sure wouldn't care.

I remember shutting the door and walking down the sidewalk like it was yesterday. I didn't even look back.

I had no idea that that would be the last time I would see my house for a very long time.


	2. Chapter II - Sleeping in Class

I walked over to Julius's house. He lived in a gigantic house at the end of my street, with his parents and sister. They weren't the typical rich family you know from sitcoms - snobby, self-centered aristocrats - they were honest people, and some of the kindest I knew. Julius was the best one of them all, because he genuinely cared about people around him.

Before I could even ring the doorbell, Julius opened the door. "Took you long enough," he said jokingly. "Now, get inside! My village is waiting for you!"

I walked into Julius' house, taking out my 3DS and finding my spot on his couch. "Alright, let me start up."

Julius opened his DS and turned it on. "I don't have homework. You?"

"No," I replied, pressing the leaf icon on my touchscreen.

"Great. Maybe you can stay here all night," Julius said. "Your parents wouldn't mind."

"Of course not. Why would they?"

We were silent for a while as we played Animal Crossing. I managed to finish all of my village chores before Julius, so I watched him take care of the village he'd been nurturing for almost a year. I'd only gotten my copy of the game a month ago, so he was a lot better than me.

When Julius was finished, I stretched my arms. "Let's play some Super Smash Bros. I've been perfecting some techniques that I want to try out on you."

"No way you're gonna beat my custom Greninja," Julius replied with a smile. He turned on his TV and his Wii U, and we set to playing.

Soon, the sun was setting. Julius said that I was free to sleep over, so I did. My parents wouldn't care anyway. I slept on the floor next to his bed, tossing and turning on the hard floor. Eventually I fell into some kind of sleep.

The next morning, the sun shined through the large window on the east side of the room. "Come on, man! It's time for school!"

I sighed and squirmed out of my sleeping bag. "Oh, crap," I said. "I left my bag at my house!"

"Oh, come on, you have so many extra books in your locker, you won't need it. Now, let's go! We've already missed the bus!" Julius said.

I went to the bathroom to change out of my pajamas and hurried out the door to school. I didn't have time to run back to my house to drop off excess things, so I just brought it all to school.

Thursday. One of the worst days to go to my school. The smell of yam fries fills the entire school in the morning, and in the afternoon it smells like chemicals, because of all the supplies the janitors use to get rid of the smell. The area near my locker smelled particularly nasty, so I pulled my shirt above my nose and took breaths only when necessary.

I heard footsteps behind me, and turned to see Zander, walking towards me with a malevolent grin on his face. "Well, well, it's the nerd I punched yesterday."

I shut my locker and hurried to run away, but Zander grabbed my arm and nearly dislocated my shoulder when he pulled it. He shoved me against the lockers. All of the other kids cleared out of the hallway, probably out of fear.

"The nose wasn't all I wanted to break, geek," he said, raising a fist. "First, I'll start with the rest of your face, and then -"

"Hey!" I heard Julius' voice say. "Put him down!"

Zander turned his head slowly. "Ah, another nerd. More blood on the floor, I suppose."

"I don't think that'll be happening," Julius said. Taking a closer look, I saw he had his DS in his hand. He pressed down on the touchscreen.

"What's that? Another game?" Zander laughed.

"No, actually, it's a sound recorder. I just caught you saying how you'd beat up Drew, then mop the floor with his blood, not to mention mine. I could turn this into the principal right now, so I suggest you put 'the nerd' down, before you end up suspended or arrested."

Zander slowly lowered his fist. "You little..." he went silent. He grabbed me with his gargantuan fists and threw me into the hall. He walked away, muttering something under his breath.

"Thank you so much," I said.

"Don't mention it. Now get to class," Julius said, and he took off running. As I was sprinting out to my locker to grab my English textbook, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked to my right, and nothing was there.

The girl was running. Her shoes clapped against the cobblestone street. Her breath was getting short, and she was running out of energy. She turned her head to see how close the monster was.

The shadow had gotten closer. It was relentless, clawing at the girl's hair. She knew she couldn't hold out forever.

"Drew?"

My head flew up off of my desk. "Yes?"

"Were you sleeping?!" asked Mrs. Gabriella.

"N-no, I was studying my... book," I lied.

"Well, you need to pay attention," the English teacher sighed and went back up to the front of the room.

This day was starting to turn sour. My head had begun aching the beginning of the period, and then I'd fallen asleep in class! I had no desire to pay attention at all. It was like my mind was in some faraway land.

The dream that I had, though... what had it meant?

After the hour was over, I went to see the nurse. She gave me some Tylenol and I went to my next class. Things didn't really improve, though, and before lunch, my head was pounding.

"You okay?" asked Julius. We had both gotten there late and we had sat down for lunch, but I had sat there for a full two minutes and hadn't touched any of my food. I was just holding my head in my hands and wishing I didn't have three more classes to go to.

"Not really," I grunted, pushing my tray aside. "My head's been throbbing all morning."

"Play too many video games?" Julius said sarcastically.

I half-smiled. That was my dad's answer whenever I got headaches. "I've still got math to get through. My poor brain... I hope I don't burn it."

"You probably have already."

The bell rang, and the noise made my head hurt even more. "Urgh... see you after school, Julius."

I picked up my books and headed to my fifth period. I walked slower than usual. I felt heavy and dehydrated, and on top of that, my brain was still pumping out waves of discomfort every second or so. I stopped at the drinking fountain and drank for a straight fifteen seconds before I walked into my classroom.

The relentless migraine didn't quit after sixth period, and soon I had only math class left. Just 45 more minutes, I told myself. You can do this.

Sadly, I was mistaken. I couldn't do it. Well, my worksheet at least. I nearly fell asleep again, but luckily I was saved by someone dropping their book on the ground.

I looked at the clock. Ten minutes left of class. Ten more minutes of torture, I thought. I looked outside and nearly jumped out of my seat.

It was only there for an instant, but I saw it clearly. It was a dark figure, completely black with red eyes. The moment I saw the shadow, it had disappeared. My head ached harder.

"What...?" I whispered out loud.

Knowing that Mr. Lambert was probably playing on his phone, I got up and looked out the window. There was nothing out of the ordinary. I shrugged it off as a kid passing by and sat back down.

After an eternity, the bell finally rang, and I ran to my locker and jammed my books in. I somehow managed to get outside through the overcrowded hallways and began to walk home.

The heat of the sun scorched my neck, and I began to sweat. The heat and the headache were taking their toll on me, and I felt like I could collapse at any moment.

Two minutes later, I did. I fell onto the sidewalk, panting from exhaustion. No matter what I tried, I couldn't stand up again. Was I sick or something? What was happening?

I heard the sound of wind blowing to my left. I used all of my remaining energy to turn my head around and look.

I couldn't believe what I saw. It was a jet-black Lucario, with bright red eyes. It was laughing at me, walking closer. Panic erupted inside of me. I tried to move again, but it was fruitless. Meanwhile, the Lucario began sprinting towards me, a mad grin on its face. Nobody was around to help. I was, to put it simply, screwed.

A blue light filled the scene, and I shut my eyes before the light could blind me. When I opened my eyes again, another Lucario stood before me. This one was normal colored.

"Listen to me. Find a trainer. You need to be disguised as one of theirs. But you can't be in a Pokéball. Follow him to the Pokémon league. Everything will make sense there."

One second I was there, laying on the ground, staring at a Lucario, and the next I was floating. My headache and tiredness had vanished. Everywhere I looked was some shade of blue. I felt like I was in water.

I took a deep breath to make sure that I really wasn't underwater. What is happening? I asked myself. It was like I was in a limbo of some kind.

I saw the outline of something in the distance. I tried to swim towards it, but my body wouldn't propel itself. The outline got closer. I saw that it was the silhouette of a Lucario. As I glanced at it, it's feet began to glow.

As did mine.

The glow worked its way up the silhouette's legs and, simultaneously, up mine. "Wait a minute," I said. "What is-?"

I was cut off when the light started closing around my face. I couldn't see anything, but I could feel my skin prickling and heating up. I felt pressure building around my face, the top of my head, and my lower back. I couldn't place the feeling, but it felt like my skin was... stretching. Mutating somehow. Finally, the glow dissipated.

The blue had vanished, and I found myself in the sky. I saw a lake below me - and it was a long way down. I was skyrocketing towards it.

"No!" I screamed. I flipped myself over and waved my arms in the air. My heart froze as I saw my hands - they weren't hands anymore.

Before I had a chance to say anything more, I splashed into the lake. I remained underwater, not moving, my senses foggy. At last I pulled up out of the water and inhaled, looking for the shore. I spotted it about twenty yards away and made my way toward it as fast as I could.

I dragged myself up into the sand and grass, coughing and gasping. I flopped onto my back and laid there, gazing at the nighttime sky.

I held up my hands to confirm my suspicions. Sure enough, they were paws, with a spike on the back of each. I sat up and looked down at myself. The familiar features of a Lucario met my eyes: the chest spike, the blue fur that looked like a pair of shorts on my legs. I felt the back of my head, and the dreadlock-like sensors were there. I felt my face, and my nose was stretched into a muzzle.

I didn't know what to think. Suddenly I was a Lucario, and I had no instructions but to find a trainer. I had so many questions and no answers. I had no idea where I was or where I should go.

Then I had an idea. The Lucario from before obviously meant for me to find a Pokémon trainer. But how had he gotten into my world? And how did a Lucario even exist? I had gathered that this was the Pokémon world, but that only existed in video games and anime episodes... right? This was all too much to process.

But, well, I couldn't just sit there wondering about what just happened. Looking around, I saw large trees all around me. Plants I had never seen in my life were in abundance around the water. I stood up and tried to get used to my digitigrade feet. I stumbled and my face fell into the mud. Growling, I stood up again. Eventually I got used to walking, and I looked around for something to build a shelter with. I would find a trainer soon.


	3. Chapter III - A Journey Begins

The next few days were some of the most interesting in my life. I'd never liked camping, and this was a very extreme version - no tent, no sleeping bag, and I had to forage for food. At first I thought I wouldn't last an hour in these types of conditions.

Luckily, my new body had several perks. I had a greater sense of sight, smell, and hearing. I could sniff out some Berries in just a few seconds. My strength had drastically improved as well. I was still trying to get used to my paws, though. It was a little tough to grip with them.

My shelter that I had built was a very simple lean-to. I found a large rock to lean my shelter against and set to work. My strength allowed me to drag logs over to where I needed them and set them up without much effort. It took me about a half hour to complete it.

I didn't sleep much the first night I was there. So many thoughts were rolling through my mind, and I was wet and cold from the lake. I hadn't figured out a way to get back to my own world, so I figured that I'd go with what that other Lucario said to me for as long as I needed to.

On the fourth day, I decided to go out and explore some more. I hadn't seen any other Pokémon around this area, which I thought was pretty odd. I thought that I would at least see a Pidgey or something by now.

Crawling out of my makeshift shelter, I stood. I'd gotten pretty good at walking with my new feet. I made my way past the lake towards the edge of the forest. I stepped between the trees and moved forward, the leaves crunching beneath my feet.

The dreadlocks on the back of my head tingled. I sensed that something was near me, but I couldn't tell what. It was about thirty yards to my left. Turning that way, I immediately froze.

A Beedrill had spotted me. It shouted as it came towards me, stingers ready to strike.

I jumped, and was surprised to see that I sprung really high, easily clearing the Beedrill. Okay, I've got to fight this thing... what moves do I use?

I immediately thought of Aura Sphere, but I decided against it. If Beedrill was a Poison/Bug type, which I figured it was, then it wouldn't be very effective. Instead I decided on a different move.

Do I know Meteor Mash? I asked. My right paw suddenly surged with power. Oh yeah. I turned around and sprinted at the Beedrill, nailing it square in the face with my devastating Steel type move.

The Beedrill blew backwards. It looked exhausted, but mad as ever. It aimed its stingers and fired needles at me. I dodged the move, which I assumed was Pin Missile, my a millimeter. I followed with another Meteor Mash, which sent the Beedrill flying away.

I stood there, not really knowing what to do. Had I really just gotten myself into a Pokémon battle... and won?

I'm better than I thought, I said to myself.

Continuing on into the forest, I spotted some more Pokémon. I saw several Butterfree and another Beedrill. I decided to avoid any confrontation, just in case they ganged up on me. I was strong, but probably not strong enough to take on several Pokémon at a time.

Then my aura feelers began to twitch again. I felt something in the forest clearing up ahead. I peeked through the trees and saw a girl there. I also saw a Froakie and a Roggenrola. I watched from a distance as the girl commanded the Froakie.

"Athena, use Bubble!" the girl cried, pointing her finger at the Roggenrola. The Froakie complied, firing several Bubbles from its mouth. The Roggenrola rolled out of the way and toward Athena, hitting her with a devastating Rollout. Athena flew back, landing in her trainer's arms.

Before I even knew what I was doing, I charged at the Roggenrola. Aura Sphere time! I thought. I put my paws together and slowly pulled them apart, charging up my Aura Sphere. With a cry I launched it at the unsuspecting Rock-type, sending it flying back into the forest. When it hit the ground, it scurried away hurriedly.

The girl sat, dumbfounded, clutching her wounded Pokémon. I looked at her, and she looked back. She was wearing shorts, a blue tee-shirt and a black baseball cap that sharply contrasted her dirty blond hair. "Woah," she said. She reached into her blue bag and pulled out a small, rectangular object.

A Pokédex... I thought.

She held it up and it began speaking. "Lucario. It manipulates the aura around it to unleash powerful moves during battle."

The girl lowered her Pokédex. "H-hey, Lucario."

I had no idea how a Lucario was supposed to act, so I just nodded, acknowledging her presence. "Are... you going to hurt me?" she said.

I shook my head. Suddenly I had an idea. Maybe I could go with this trainer... She may not be very good now, but I could help her. We could make it to the Pokémon league so that I could find out why I was here.

"Okay, I'm dropping the act," I said, looking away.

The girl screamed and nearly dropped her Froakie. "It talks! It talks!" she said.

"HE talks," I said back, relieved that she could understand me. At least part of my human life had stayed with me. "I have a question. You're a trainer right? What's your goal?"

"Goal?" the girl asked. "I... it's a little complicated. You ready to listen?"

"Wait, you're going to open up to me just like that?"

"I don't understand it either, but I feel like I just need to talk to you."

"Well... okay." I sat down in the grass. She sat, too, clutching her Froakie, which looked extremely scared of me.

"When I was little, I was considered strange by many people. I had no interest in beauty or fashion. All I wanted to learn about was Pokémon battles. It's not usual where I come from for a girl to become a trainer. Since I was nine, I've been studying about how to train Pokémon, how to battle properly, and things like that.

"Then on my eleventh birthday, the Professor came to my door. He asked if I wanted to become a trainer. My parents refused, of course. They love to stick to tradition. So... I ran away. I managed to talk to the Professor before he left town and got a Pokémon and Pokédex from him; that's where I met Athena.

"So, anyway, I've been training ever since. For what? To break tradition. To prove that girls can train Pokémon just as well as boys. I'm going to the Pokémon League, defeating the Champion and entering the Hall of Fame!"

Yes! She's not a contest trainer! And a bit feminist, too! I said in my head. "Wow... I've always wanted to get into the Hall of Fame, too. But I'm just a Lucario. There's only so much I can do myself..."

My ploy seemed to be working. Her face lit up, and I could tell she was thinking. "You know... there are several open spots in my party."

"Really?" I said, imitating surprise.

"You're going to join?!" the girl said.

"Woah, woah, I don't even know your name yet!"

"It's Valori, but you can call me Val." she stood up and reached in her bag.

"Okay, I can come with you. But no Poké ball for me. They get really uncomfortable."

"You've been in one before?"

"I was. I've since been released, thank goodness."

"Oh... alright," Val said, immediately accepting my lie. Athena climbed onto her shoulder. "Athena here doesn't like her Poké ball either."

"Am I the second Pokémon in your party?"

"Yep. Let's get going; I hear that there's a town near this forest. We can all get some food and supplies there. I'm about to use my last Potion to heal Athena..."

Val took out a purple spray bottle and sprayed the Froakie. It immediately relaxed and it seemed perfectly healthy in just a few seconds. Val sat then sat Athena on her shoulder.

Val and I began walking back into the forest. I could hear music in the distance. We followed the melodies and came to a pathway.

"Left," Val said. "And hurry; right is where my parents live."

"Got it," I said. We continued down the left path.

"So are gonna tell me why you can talk?" Val asked.

"It's a pretty crazy story, and I'm not sure I feel like going into details right now," I said slowly.

"Alright..." said Val, obviously skeptical. "Oh wait, I haven't given you a nickname yet! What do you want?"

"Um..." I thought for a moment. Maybe I should go undercover for whatever mission I was sent here for.

"What about Apollo?" I said.

"Sure. Apollo it is."

We came upon an archway the led into a small, yellow, cobblestone-paved town. There was a small sign that read, "Welcome to Aquacorde Town".

Aquacorde... that means we're in the Kalos region, I determined, stepping through the archway. The smell of freshly-baked bread filled the air. I saw several people walking around, entering buildings, and talking with others. It was like a small town square. There was even a fountain in the middle of it all. Seeing this town for real was weird. I was always looking at it from above. But seeing it now, from a real first-person perspective... It's breathtaking.

I probably shouldn't talk out loud... that would raise suspicions. Maybe if... I said to myself. I directed my next thoughts at Val.

Can you hear me? I asked.

She jumped a little. "What was that?"

It was me, uh... Apollo, I said, still getting used to the new name. I can communicate telepathically. We should probably keep my talking a secret, so in crowded areas, let's use this. Try and direct your thoughts at me.

Okay... is it working? Val said.

Beautifully, I said back. She looked at me and I smiled.

Athena jumped down from Val's shoulder and looked around. "What is it, Athena?" Val asked. Athena pointed towards a bakery, saying, "Let's get some food!"

I was about to ask why Val's Froakie could talk as well when I stopped myself. I was a Pokémon; I could understand Pokéspeak, duh!

She's hungry, I said to Val.

"Alright, let's get you something to eat!" Val said, picking Athena up and placing her back on her shoulder. We walked into the bakery, and a rather large man behind the counter greeted us. "Welcome!" he said. "What can I get you today?"

"How about a loaf of Oran Berry bread?" Val said.

"Great," said the man. He reached under the counter and pulled up a rather large loaf of bread that looked quite appetizing. "That'll be 200 Poké."

Val paid the man and we headed outside to eat the bread. She handed me a big hunk of it.

Ever had Oran bread before? she asked.

Never, I said.

Best stuff in the world, Val said. Dig in.

I pulled off a chunk with my paw and put it in my muzzle. My taste buds went crazy. It was really sweet and had the slight taste of focaccia. Man, that is good, I thought, tearing off another piece. Val gave a smaller portion to Athena, who happily ate it. She ate the rest.

"Alright, you two," Val said once we had eaten our fill. "Now we're going to buy some supplies. We need Poké balls and Potions."

"Cool!" Athena said.

Great, I told Val.

"Follow me." Val stood up and walked across the stone street to a small shop sandwiched between buildings. We entered, and the door dinged as we walked in.

Val talked to the woman at the counter for a minute. Soon after, Val turned around, stuffing something in her bag. "Five of each," she said. "I'll need some more Pokémon if I'm going to beat the first gym. Oh, I also got a map."

She pulled out the map and unfolded it. Sure enough, I saw the unmistakable design of the Kalos region. She pointed at a small dot labeled "Aquacorde Town". "This is where we are." She moved her finger up a ways to another dot. "This is where we need to go - Santalune City. I hear there's an awesome hat shop there; maybe the'll have one fancier than mine."

Val folded up the map and slipped it into her bag. You can fit everything in there? I asked her.

Yeah, she replied. Really nifty how they made these. They've got pockets and pouches for everything in here.

"Now let's go!" Val said, walking out the door. I followed her. Before I stepped out the door, however, I felt something... dark. I don't know how else to explain it. It was a feeling of dread and suppression. I decided to take extra care not to be discovered, even by Val. I stepped out the door, moving a little bit quicker to catch up to Val.

"Who is that Lucario?"

"I don't know. He appears normal, but his aural readings are off the charts. He's the most powerful being we've ever seen! Besides you, of course."

"Right. I want our spies following this Lucario and the girl. They can never let them out of their sights. I want to know every piece of information we can get about them. And then, if possible, capture the Lucario."

"And what of the girl?"

"The girl? Well... if she sees, hears, or does anything that would compromise us... kill her and that Froakie."

Author's Note: Well, this is awkward. Haven't posted this in a long time! I guess I should. :) Hope you enjoy! I'm currently working hard on more chapters!


	4. Chapter IV - Santalune Forest

"Route 2," Val said. "The beginner trainers usually hang out around here. Maybe we can train you up a bit battling against them, Athena."

Athena nodded, straightening herself on Val's shoulder. I was just behind the pair. I still had the incessant feeling of darkness over me. Then I realized what it meant - something was watching us.

I quickly looked around, my feelers swinging and hitting me in the nose. They started itching and tingling again, pointing me towards the tall grass - right where Val was walking.

"Maybe we'll catch some wild Pokémon," Val said. She stepped closer to the exact spot I was detecting. Alarm bells were going off in my head.

Val, wait! I said to her. Her foot stepped in the grass, and a figure leapt out of hiding. A shadowy Lucario, just like the one I saw in my old world, was here. It grinned malevolently at Val.

Run! I said to Val. GO!

She took off down Route 2, towards a large patch of trees. I faced the Lucario.

Have some of this, I said, charging up an Aura Sphere. The shadow did the same, the dark ball of pure aura growing larger in its palms. I launched mine just as he threw his, and they collided in midair, setting off a huge explosion that threw us both back. I landed softly in the grass, but the dark Lucario wasn't so lucky - he had hit a rock, knocking him out.

I ran to catch up to Val, avoiding the tall grass so as to not confront any Pokémon. Running towards the line of trees, I dodged a few trainers who happened to see me. I think one of them even tried to throw a Poké ball at me, but to no avail, luckily. After running for about two minutes into the forest, I concluded that the shadowy Lucario wasn't following me.

I darted past a few trees and tried to spot Val or Athena through the dense foliage. I pushed through several bushes before I heard the cry of a Froakie about twenty yards to my left. I knocked down a few more plants and shrubs before I spotted Val, with Athena on the ground in front of her. It took me all of three seconds to realize what was going on - Val was in some kind of battle - before I was knocked in the back of the head. I turned around, rubbing the sore spot, and saw a small Caterpie, making a vicious face at me like, Outta my way; I've got a Froakie to annihilate! It had just used Tackle on my head.

Not very effective, buddy, I thought. Turning to Val, I said, Maybe don't capture this one; it looks it won't be very cooperative.

Right, Val said. "Athena, let's go! It's not worth the trouble."

Athena jumped up onto Val's shoulder and we ran. We didn't have to go very far before the Caterpie got bored and went to find some leaves to lay in.

"Okay, I am totally confused," Val said. "What the heck just attacked us back there?"

"I'm not sure myself," I said. We were alone, I knew (I didn't detect anybody on my super-cool aura radar), so it was safe to talk aloud. "All I know is they've been following me since I came here. Before, actually. I really wish I knew what they were, but I don't have any idea."

Val was silent for a moment. "You are one weird Lucario," she said. "You can talk, and you've got a pack of demon Lucarios coming to defeat and/or capture you."

"Yeah... my life's not exactly the most normal one."

I heard a jingle come out of Val's pocket. I recognized the song as the Pokémon League theme from the Kalos region. She withdrew a phone, groaned, pushed the screen, and held it to her ear.

"Oh, so now you try to call me," she said, a bitter look on her face. "It's been almost two weeks since I ran, and you just now decided to dial my number?!"

She stood silent, listening to a voice on the other line. "Oh, don't give me the "We didn't have time" or the "we thought you were staying at a friend's house" BS. You don't give a crap about me. It's probably better that I ran. Good luck trying to find me."

Val hung up and put the phone back in her pocket. "Sorry you had to hear that. My parents are - well, you can probably come up with nicer words than I can. Let's continue. I'm pretty sure Santalune City is up this way."

He stared down at the smooth, black barrel. He couldn't do this. It was insane. But... there wasn't another choice, was there? His one friend had disappeared two weeks ago and he was achieving such terrible grades that his parents were thinking of signing him up for private tutoring. The steel shined in the moonlight, sending Julius the message he wanted - "no one would care about this. It's so easy; just pick it up and shoot. Simple."

Julius slowly lifted his arm, his face expressionless, and set his hand on the gun. At that moment he hesitated. What if he missed his brain and he just caused himself a lot of pain? He would have to aim carefully. His hand tightened around the handle as he lifted the gun off of the table. His hand shaking, he held it to his temple.

"I'm sorry, mom," he whispered, tightening his finger around the trigger. "You deserved better than me." In that moment, Julius pulled the trigger.

But it didn't move.

He tried again, and the trigger stayed stuck. "Come on," he said, tears streaming down his face, "I want OUT!"

"Of the world?"

Julius froze and dropped the gun, which went off. The bullet nearly penetrated through Julius's foot. "What?" he said.

"You want out of this world. You think you're so pathetic and weak that the world would be better off without you. Well I can give you a fresh start. You could be part of something huge. You won't be insignificant; you will make a difference."

"How?"

"By being a leader. General. Commander. You are the missing piece we need, Julius!"

"Yeah," Julius said sarcastically. "And where is this place where I can make a difference?"

A dark red light seemed to emanate from the gun on the floor. Julius felt compelled to pick it up, and he did so. The world began spinning, and he fell to the ground, everything a blur.

"Welcome to the Pokémon world."

"Well, we're lost," I said, trying to take in my surroundings. This patch of woods looked menacing, as if the trees were closing on us.

"I can't see where the sun is through the trees; if I could, I could tell what direction we're going."

I wasn't listening. I could feel some kind of energy emanating from an indiscernible source. Walking to my left, the feeling grew stronger. "This way," I called to Val. "I feel something over here."

"Feel something? Like what?"

"Not sure yet."

I trudged through the undergrowth, which seemed to get thicker and thicker as I went along. Pretty soon my mobility was limited to about a step per five seconds.

I moved one more bush out of the way before I saw it - the source of the energy. It was sitting on a large tree stump, glowing a beautiful shade of purple. A small, spherical stone, barely an inch in diameter, was giving off huge amounts of aural energy; I could feel it.

"What is that?" Val asked. "Looks... magical."

"No idea," I said, approaching the mysterious object. I reached out to touch it.

"Wait," Val said. "What if it shocks you or something?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry," I said. I set my paw on top of it and felt energy surge through me. I felt larger and more powerful than I ever had.

"What is that?! Wait, I forgot I had this," Val said, reaching into her bag. She withdrew an item that looked like a Pokédex, but a bit smaller and rounder. She pointed the device at the object in my paw.

"Lucarionite. A Mega Evolution stone," she read. "It says here it can only be used by a Lucario. The Lucario who holds it must have a trusting and loving bond between its trainer, who holds his or her own 'Key Stone'."

"Now that you mention it, this new power I does feel... locked, somehow."

"Locked? You mean, like, you can't access it or something?"

"Yeah. And what is that thing you just used?" I had never seen anything like the machine Val used in the Pokémon games before.

"Item ID," she replied, stuffing it back in her bag. "Snatched it from my dad before I left town. It's been dang useful so far."

I looked down at the stone in my paw. "The Item ID said that I have to have a 'strong and loving bond' between you and me in order to access Mega Evolution."

"And I need my own Key Stone as well," Val replied. "I guess we have no use for it at the moment, mostly because I haven't gotten to know you that much to really call you a true friend. Here, let me put it in my bag so you won't have to carry it."

"Alright," I said, and I tossed the stone over to Val. She caught it and dropped it in her bag. "Now, about getting out of this forest..."

"How WILL we get out?" I asked.

"We've gotta go north, but I have no idea which way that is. You know, Athena?"

Athena shook her head.

"Great," Val said. "Well, maybe if we keep walking in one direction, we'll reach a path or something that'll take us north. Or maybe we can come to a clearing where I can see what direction we should go."

"Probably the best plan we're got," I said. "I'm in."

I looked up and, to my surprise, the sun had gone down and the stars were starting to appear in the sky. "Uh, maybe we should start tomorrow," I advised. "It's getting dark pretty fast."

"Maybe you have a point," Val said. "Now that you mention it, I almost can't see through the trees anymore!"

"So do we camp out here for the night?"

"I guess."

After making a fire pit and igniting the fire, the three of us gathered around the flame. I was getting pretty hot, what with the large portion of fur covering my entire freaking body. I felt like I was melting.

"Mind if I step away real quick? This heat is killing me," I said to Val.

"Sure," she said, and I stood up and walked into the trees, being careful to avoid the stump I'd found the Stone on. Eventually I found a safe distance from the fire that felt relatively cool and laid down in the grass, getting wrapped up in my thoughts.

"I've been here for almost a week now," I said to myself. "I still can't believe this is real. I mean, I'm a Pokémon. A real life Pokémon." I lifted my right paw up to my face and examined it. The small spike on the back of my hand was still kinda freaking me out. "I almost can't remember what it was like to have five fingers." I laughed at my own comment, laying my paw down across my stomach. "Isn't that sad?"

I focused my attention on the stars. "My only real friend in the universe is in an entirely different world," I realized. I hadn't quite thought about just how far apart Julius and I were. "I wonder how he's doing without me."

I shut my eyes, letting the small breeze blow over me, cooling me off. I hadn't even realized that I'd drifted into sleep until I heard Athena's voice and felt something shaking me awake.

"Come on, get up sleepyhead!" she said. I opened my eyes and looked at the small, blue-and-white frame of Froakie. "It's morning?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Athena said. "Val's finding us some Berries in the forest, so we've got time all to ourselves!"

"Really?" I said. Maybe, if we have some time...

"Athena, do you want some training?" I inquired.

"Training?" Athena asked, making a face. "Like what?"

"Battle training."

"Oh...! Yeah, I guess. If you could give me a few tips, that'd be great! After all, you've probably fought in tons of battles yourself!"

Well, actually... I thought to myself. "Alright, let me get up first." I stood, the sun gleaming against the treetops, looking over the small Froakie. "You want some tips on battling?"

"Uh-huh!" Athena said, nodding.

"Well then, let's begin." I said, clapping my paws together. Let's see... first tip... I looked around at the campsite. The fire had been cleaned up, with only a small indentation in the grass of where we'd placed the rocks that formed the fire pit.

"First... how do you use your moves? What goes on in your mind while you're attacking?"

"Uh..." Athena thought for a moment. "Usually, I think about what move I want to use, and then I think about what I need to do to accomplish the move..."

"Alright, let me tell you something," I said. "The only thing you need to do is think about what move you want to use. Your body will naturally react and execute the move."

"Really?!" Athena seemed stunned.

"Yeah," I said. "Knowing this'll save you valuable time when you're battling, and you'll be able to attack faster. Here, let's try."

I stepped away from Athena about five feet. "Now, attack me like you normally do."

"Wait, really?!" Athena asked. "I don't wanna hurt you!"

"Don't worry, I can take it. I'm quite a strong Pokémon."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. This'll be fun!" I smiled. "What move are you gonna use?"

"Um... Water Gun?"

"Great. Use Water Gun like you normally do."

Athena opened her mouth and, after half a second, shot a burst of water out, which hit me square in the face. It felt like getting softly slapped in the face: doesn't hurt that much, but still leaves a bit of a sting.

"That was good," I said. "Now try my tip."

"Alright," Athena said. Immediately she opened her mouth and shot another jet of water at me. This one hit harder, and made me stagger back a little.

"Woah..." I said. "That was great! Much better!" I said, grinning.

"You think so?" Athena asked.

"Yeah, I do!" I replied.

"It's a little weird to do, but I guess it works!"

"Your move was actually more powerful as well."

"Seriously?!"

"Yep! You're actually pretty good at using moves."

"Aw, thanks!" Athena had a huge smile on her face. "Any other tips?"

"Hey guys!" I heard Val call from the distance.

"Sorry, I'll have to teach you later," I said to Athena.

"Okay..." she said, disappointed. "I hope Val brought some good berries!"

"Me too," I said. "Let's go see what she got us!"

Athena followed me as I walked over to Val. "What'd you get?" I asked.

Val reached inside her bag. "Sitrus, Pecha, and Rawst berries. I got the Pechas just for you, Athena!"

"Yay!" Athena cried, jumping up and down with excitement. Val set two pink berries down on the ground, which Athena promptly picked up and started eating.

Val handed me a few Sitrus berries. "I hope you like citrusy flavor," she said.

"Oh, I love citrus," I said, taking the berries and biting into one of them. Just like with the Oran bread I'd had, my taste buds went crazy for the stuff. It tasted just like Mountain Dew (not sponsoring or anything), with a hint of orange. I ate the rest of the Sitrus berries quickly.

Val ate her Rawst berries quickly as well. As soon as all three of us had eaten our fill, we started talking about what direction we should head in.

"Santalune City to the north of this forest, according to the Town Map," Val explained. She pointed in a certain direction. "North is that way. I figured that out using the position of the sun. I found a clearing while gathering Berries where I could see the sky pretty clearly. Heading that way, we should reach the City in no time."

"Sounds good," I said.

"Right!" Athena agreed.

"Then let's head out!" Val said. She turned and started walking into the trees. We followed, heading towards the first Pokémon City I'd ever been in, and towards the Santalune Gym.

AN: Chapters 5 & 6 have already been written, I'm just waiting to upload them. Working hard on Chapter 7! Thanks so much for reading my story.


	5. Chapter V - Class Demonstration

Leaves were swaying in the trees. Bird-types were chirping their songs to the skies. The sound of a small creek echoed across the small clearing. The Pokémon laying on the ground in the middle of it opened its eyes. Everything was blurry and out of focus. "Where...?" it said, shutting its eyes again and rubbing its throbbing head. Resting for another minute or so, the headache went away, and the Pokémon was able to keep its eyes open with clear vision.

It saw the blue sky and the leaves on the trees. "Where am I?" it said aloud. The Pokémon tried to remember how it'd gotten to be on the ground, but its memory seemed to be failing it.

"Why... why can't I remember anything?!" it shouted, sitting up a little too quickly. Dots popped in the Pokémon's eyes. It rubbed its eyes with its hands for just a few moments before it stopped. I moved its hands away from its face and stared. They were small, orange, and had claws.

The Pokémon quickly looked itself over. Clawed feet, flaming tail, all orange and scaled. There was no doubt - it was a Charmander.

"I'm a Pokémon," it said, starting to freak out. "But why?! I can't remember anything... Oh, no, what now?!" The Charmander started breathing deeply to calm itself.

I need to move, the Charmander thought. Towards some civilization.

The Charmander stood. "Man, I can't even remember my name... What is going on?" It looked around.

It looked like there was a very large and menacing-looking mountain to its left. It definitely wouldn't be going that way. The Charmander turned its head to the right instead, where there was a sign hanging on a tree. The Charmander moved closer and read it.

"Serene Village - Three hours to the right! Come visit our quiet scenery and have a stop at our branch of Café Connection!"

"Three whole hours?!" it exclaimed. "I've got to make it on my own with no memory of where I am or who I am for three hours before I can reach a village?!" The Charmander sighed. "Guess I'd better get going." It turned to the right of the sign and began walking. "Maybe I can get some help in the village or-"

The Charmander was tackled to the ground by a sudden force from the left. "Ow..." it said. "What's going-"

The Charmander looked up and saw a blue body standing over him. It had a large snout, bright turquoise eyes, and plenty of sharp teeth. "Sorry!" it said, extending its claws to help the Charmander up. The Charmander took the new creature's hand and stood up. The Charmander stared in awe. It was a Pokémon! A Pokémon was talking to it!

"Look, I need to get back to Serene Village," the blue Pokémon said. "You wanna help me?"

"Yeah," the Charmander said. "I was just heading there myself, as a matter of fact."

"Great! Let's go," the blue Pokémon replied. "I'm Dilus. A Totodile, obviously. You're a Charmander by the looks of you... what's your name?"

"I..." the Charmander struggled for a second. What do I do?! I can't just outright tell him I'm a human who can't remember their name, can I?! Eventually the Charmander decided to tell the truth. It wouldn't help to lie, anyway.

"Well, actually, I don't-"

A loud branch snap from behind the pair shook them with fear. "Never mind! Introductions later! We have to get out of here!" Dilus cried.

"What?!" the Charmander cried.

"Just follow me! Quickly!" Dilus shouted back, sprinting in one direction. The Charmander followed, not daring to look behind it.

Eventually, the stomping faded, and the pair stopped to catch their breath. "What... was... that?!" the Charmander asked between breathes.

"Oh... just an Emboar whose Berry trees I may have tried to steal from," Dilus replied. "He won't bother us. He can't stand to be a hundred feet from his fields." Dilus waited a few seconds before speaking again. "So, anyway... what were you going to tell me?"

The Charmander froze, still drawing breath intensely. "Uh, well... I'm not sure you'd believe me."

"Aw, don't give me that!" chuckled Dilus. "I've seen lots of weird things in my time! This can't be that crazy."

Just you wait, the Charmander thought. "Well... Okay. I am not a Pokémon."

"What do you mean?" Dilus asked. "You look like a Charmander."

"Well, I wasn't always this way," the Charmander replied. "I used to be a human, but I can't remember anything about my human life. It's like my mind's been erased. I don't know where I am or why I'm here."

Dilus stared at the Charmander. "Really?!" he said.

"Yeah. I know it's pretty hard to believe."

"Yeah, it is, but... not really now that I think about it!"

"Wait, seriously?!"

"Uh-huh! Like I said, this world is weird as it is! It's pretty easy to accept something like this! Did you have a name as a human?"

"Actually, I..." the Charmander began, but stopped. Something came into its mind then - a single word repeated over and over. Could that be its name? HIS name? Now that the Charmander thought about it, its voice DID sound more male...

"My name..." he said, "my name... is Julius."

-APOLLO-

Apparently the Pokémon world has fashion trends as well.

There were several hats on display when we entered the clothing store. Val looked like she was in heaven. Her black cap did look pretty old and worn-out, so I could see why she was excited to get a new one.

"Which one looks good on me?" Val asked, grabbing two different hats and putting them on. Athena pointed to the first one - an aquamarine one with a wave pattern on it - and said, "that one!"

I actually liked the second hat better. It was blue in the back, with white on the front and a blue Pokéball drawing on it. -I think the second one looks really good on you, I told Val.

"The second one does seem more my style... and these kind of Pokéball patterns are totally trending right now."

"That's true!" Athena exclaimed, "Pick that one!" She had forgotten all about the wave-patterned one.

"Alright, I'm getting this one!" said Val, digging into her bag for some Poké. "Woah, I'm running out of cash," she said. "Maybe we need to battle some trainers to earn some more."

"Yeah!" Athena cried.

Great idea, I said.

After Val had paid for her new hat, stuffed the old one away and put the new one on, she said, "Alright, let's find some people who want to battle! Where should we start looking?"

I think the Trainers' School is probably a good place to start, I suggested.

The Trainers' School, huh? Val replied. Works for me.

"How about the Trainers' School, Athena?" Val asked.

"Yeah!" Athena answered, radiating with excitement.

Out of the hat store, we passed the Pokémon Center and turned right, walking around the giant stone Roselia fountain, which was pouring water out of the flowers on its arms. Looking in the fountain, I saw several coins of varying sizes.

The Trainers' School was a large, white building, much like the other buildings in Santalune City. It had a maroon roof and two large, green doors. There was a sign posted to the right of the doors that read, "Welcome to the Trainers' School! Brush up on Pokémon basics!"

"Pokémon basics?" Val asked. "What could that mean?" Turning away from the sign she entered the building, Athena jumping on her shoulder and me following behind.

There were shelves of books on either side of us, and further into the school we saw several children walking around what appeared to be a classroom. There was a whiteboard on the other side of the room with lots of notes on it.

"'Status Changes That Occur in Battle'," Val read. "Looks like there's five... Poison, Paralysis, Sleep, Burned, and Frozen. All those can happen to a Pokémon in a single battle?!"

"Well, once another one is added, the previous one is healed," said a small boy about five feet away. He had sandy-blond hair and was dressed in all green. "At least, that's what teacher wants us to remember! It was our lesson today!"

"What do all of them do, specifically? Val asked. I was starting to tune myself out of the conversation. Having played Pokémon extensively, I had memorized all the status conditions and changes, and what moves caused them. I decided to interrupt Val before she got too deep into the conversation.

Hey, I know all of the status conditions, I said to her. I'll teach you about them later.

Oh! she told me back. How convenient. "Actually, kid, I've got it covered. Anyway," she spoke louder so everyone could hear, "who wants to battle?"

Everyone in the school turned from Val, to me, then back at Val. The teacher, who I hadn't noticed until then, looked up from his desk. "Battle?" he asked. "I don't think anyone could win against your Lucario you've got there!"

Say you're training Athena, I told Val.

"Apollo," she said, gesturing to me, "isn't the one competing today. Instead, we have Athena!"

Athena jumped from Val's shoulder and landed on the ground, twirling around and giving a "ta-da" pose. Everyone clapped, and Athena gave a smug look back at Val, who was smiling broadly.

"Well, in that case," the teacher stood. "Who would like to volunteer to battle this young lady's Froakie here?"

About half the class raised their hands and cried, "Me!" or "I do!" The teacher seemed a bit overwhelmed, but after a little while he said, "Alright, alright, calm yourselves. Kevin, how about you?"

"Really?! Sweet!" the little boy named Kevin cried. He walked to the other side of the room. The other kids moved the desks out of the way to make room for the coming battle. "Good luck, whatever your name is!" Kevin said, reaching in his back pocket for a Poké ball.

"Same to you, Kevin," Val said. "And the name's Val. Now Athena, show 'em what you're made of!"

Athena sprinted towards the center of the room. Several cheers echoed across the room as she did so. "This is going to be great!" Athena cried, standing about ten feet away from Val. I had to remind myself that everyone else in the room would hear "Kie! Froa-kie!"

Kevin thrust the fist that held the Poké ball up in the air, exclaiming, "Alright, Espurr! You've got this!" He tossed the Poké ball at the ground, which exploded in blue light to reveal a small, gray Pokémon. It had large ears that covered its head and pink eyes.

"Let's do this!" the Espurr said. Man, hearing other Pokémon talk wasn't going to be easy to get used to.

"So what rules are we using?" Val asked.

"Standard single-battle," Kevin said. "Wager?"

"You're asking me to make a wager?" Val said, surprised. She quickly checked her money pouch. "Um... let's say 400 Poké!"

The class 'ooh'ed.

"If I win?" Kevin asked. "Alright. I'll wager... 650. If you can win."

The class 'ooh'ed even louder. The teacher looked extremely surprised that a child would bring that much money to school.

"Deal," Val said, also shocked. "You can move first."

"Alright. Let's go!" Kevin cried. I could almost imagine the Kalos trainer battle music starting to play. It began playing in my head. It took me a while to realize that it wasn't just in my head - someone had started playing the song on a mini-speaker.

"Espurr, use Confusion!"

"On it!" the Espurr cried, its eyes beginning to glow. A wave of Psychic energy blasted across the room, striking Athena and sending her flying. She hit the wall and landed on the ground. She got up, wounded, but still able to fight.

Val pointed at the Espurr. "Water Gun, Athena!" she yelled. Athena immediately complied, shooting a small torrent of water that moved too quickly for the Espurr to dodge. It was knocked to the ground and didn't get up for a few seconds, and when it did, it looked absolutely winded. There were cheers and clapping all around the room.

I smiled to myself. Athena had actually used my tip!

Kevin seemed unfazed. "Hypnosis, Espurr!" he called. Espurr's eyes once again glowed, and circles of Psychic energy came at Athena.

"Dodge!" Val cried. Athena jumped out of the way just in time. "Counter with Tackle!"

Athena bounded over to Espurr and slammed into her, sending her flying back into Kevin's arms. They both fell onto the ground. There was silence in the room as everyone looked over at Kevin and his defeated Pokémon.

"Urgh..." Kevin said, setting Espurr down on the ground. She got up, obviously too tired to use another move. "Man, what a rush..." continued Kevin as he stood.

You did it, I told Val. Congratulations!

I know! I'm so excited! Val replied. "Great job, Athena! We did it!"

"Hurray!" Athena cried, out of breath. Val bent down and caught Athena as she flew into her arms.

The teacher stepped into the center of the room. "That was an amazing battle, you two!" he said. "Now Kevin, I believe you owe this young lady some money."

"Yeah," Kevin said. He reached into his pocket and withdrew six large coins and five small ones. Walking up to Val, he said, "That was a fair battle. You did awesome! I wish I could train my Pokémon like you!"

Val accepted the money, putting it in her bag. "Thanks!" she replied. "Your Espurr is really great too!"

"Well, you'd better get to a Pokémon Center," the teacher said to Val. "Your Froakie looks in need of healing."

Val put Athena on her shoulder. "Yeah, thanks. We'll be going now."

"Wait!" Kevin yelled. "Can... can I see what your Lucario can do?"

I stopped my exit from the building and turned around. Kevin was beaming up at me in amazement. "He looks so strong!" he added. "I'd bet his moves are just as powerful!"

Val turned around as well. "Yeah, they are!" she exclaimed. "Do you have a target we could use?"

"Here, use one of the desks," the teacher said, dragging a smaller desk into the middle of the class. "We're getting replacements in a few days anyway."

"Wow..." Val remarked. "O-okay, um... Apollo, you ready?"

I turned to Val and nodded. What move? I'm thinking Aura Sphere.

That sounds great, Val replied. "Alright, Apollo, show them what you've got! Aura Sphere!"

Once again I put my palms together and drew them apart slowly, letting the aura channel through my paws. I charged my Aura Sphere for a bit longer than I normally did, mostly just for style. The blue light from the ball filled the whole room with a bright glow. After a few more seconds I released the ball of aura, throwing it at the desk. As soon as it made contact the desk blew apart, flying back into the whiteboard.

The room erupted in claps and cheers once again. "That was brilliant!" the teacher exclaimed. "You've got a marvelous Lucario!"

"Thanks so much," Val said, smiling timidly. "We've really got to get going."

"Thanks for demonstrating your Pokémon," the teacher replied. "You'll have no problem taking on the gym here. Have a wonderful day!"

"You too!" Val turned, and I followed her out of the school.

That was interesting, I said to Val.

Yeah, she replied. At least you got to blow up a desk.

That WAS pretty fun.

"Well," Val said, turning towards me. "How about we head over to the Pokémon Center?"

"I need it..." Athena said, grimacing as she touched what I assumed was a sore spot on her left arm.

Val looked at Athena and nodded. "Let's get you there, then." She started to jog towards the large, blue Pokémon Center. We went around towards the front of the building and passed through the automatic sliding glass doors.

Inside, the layout was exactly the same as in the video games. There was a waiting area to the left with black couches and magazines. The entrance to a changing room was close by there, I knew. On the right were a few tables, bookshelves, and the entrance to the Poké Mart. In the very center sat a counter, with a nurse behind it, and a gigantic TV display above her. She was trying to repair a machine that was connected to the TV. I recognized it as the one you could place Poké balls on top of and have the Pokémon inside of them healed.

The nurse looked up as we walked in. "Welcome to the Pokémon Center!" she said, as happily as I could've imagined a Pokémon nurse being. "Are your Pokémon in need of care?"

"Just Athena here," Val said, lowering her shoulder and letting Athena step down onto the countertop. The nurse looked her over for a second. "Just some typical battle wounds," she explained. "A Potion and a Max Elixir should do the trick."

She reached under the counter and grabbed a purple spray bottle and a tan jar of liquid. She set the jar on the counter and sprayed Athena with the potion. Athena immediately relaxed. The nurse tossed the Potion away and grabbed the Max Elixir. She handed the huge jar to Athena, who popped off the top with ease and drank the contents.

"She's all healed up," the nurse said, throwing the jar away. "Thanks for coming! We hope to see you again!" She turned back to the machine again.

"Have a nice day," Val replied, letting Athena, who looked completely rested, jump onto her shoulder.

By the time we were out of the Pokémon Center, the sun was high in the sky, almost directly above Santalune City. "You think we have time to challenge the Gym?" Val asked us.

"Yeah!" Athena answered.

It shouldn't take very long, I replied.

"Great, let's go! To the Gym!" Val said, throwing a fist into the air.

I was seriously loving the strategy I had come up with - Val would ask a question aloud, Athena would respond, I'd respond back in thought, and everyone around us would think that Athena was the only one who would answer. It was a brilliant way to disguise my identity. Complicated, but brilliant.

You know where the Gym is? Val asked me.

It's to the right of the Trainers' School, I replied.

Val began to walk back towards the Trainers' School, but turned right before she got to it. As soon as I saw the building down the road, I could tell it was the Pokémon Gym. It was yellow and black, just like I remember in Pokémon X. There was a girl, dressed in the same colors, standing there. She was wearing a helmet and a pair of roller skates that matched her outfit.

"Hey!" Val shouted to her. "This is the Gym, right?"

"Yeah!" Roller-skate-girl shouted back. "Gym leader's inside! She'll be happy to have a challenger for once!"

She hasn't had a challenger for a while? I said to myself. That's a bit... odd.

Hey Apollo? Val asked me. Can you explain status effects to me real quick? Let's go behind a building so no one can hear us talking.

Alright.

We walked behind the building on the right of the Gym. We were in a quiet spot, so we wouldn't be heard. I explained as quickly as possible - I was as excited to enter the Gym as Val was. Both she and Athena listened intently.

"Okay... there are five. Poisoned, Paralyzed, Burned, Asleep, and Frozen. I'll give a brief summary of each," I began.

"Poisoned. A Pokémon that's Poisoned takes damage over time. It can be cured with an Antidote or Pecha Berry.

"When a Pokémon is Paralyzed, its Speed stat is lowered, and it may not be able to use moves. Use a Cheri Berry or Paralyze Heal to reverse it.

"In the Burned status, a Pokémon will take damage over time. Their Attack is lowered as well. Rawst Berries or Burn Heals will cure a Burn.

"If a Pokémon falls Asleep, it can't use moves. It'll wake up after a while, but you should probably heal it with a Chesto Berry or an Awakening.

"Getting Frozen is probably the worst out of all of these and is also the most uncommon - a Pokémon can't use moves or held items. It's pretty much helpless. It will thaw out on its own eventually or after a Fire-Type move is used on it. You can also use an Ice Heal or an Aspear Berry to quickly thaw it out."

Val looked stunned. "Wow... I'm really surprised you know all of that!"

"Yeah," I replied, also surprised. I couldn't believe I remembered all of that. "Me too."

"Let's get going," Val suggested. "Our first Gym battle... are we ready?"

"Totally!" Athena replied.

"Whenever you are," I answered.

"Great," Val said, stepping away from me and walking out from behind the building. "Let's go meet the Gym leader!"

-UNKNOWN-

"Did you see the report we got from our field agents, sir?! Her Lucario talks!"

"Yes, you dolt, I did see it. There's no question about it now... the Lucario is definitely not native to our world."

"But what do we do? What brought him here?!"

"Patience, friend. It's too well guarded by that girl. Our agents reported that, also. We need to separate them, somehow. I'll have someone start to work on that. As for who brought it here, well... I have some idea. Meanwhile, all we can do is wait."

"Yes, sir... waiting is what I've trained to do... that, and assassination."

-END CHAPTER V-

Author's Note: Hey! Thanks for reading my story. Based on my re-reading of the chapters on , I'm guessing some of you are having a hard time following the story because of a few formatting errors, such as when Drew/Val are talking to each other in their head, when one section ends and another begins, etc. I fixed a few in this chapter, most will be fixed in Chapter VI, and all of them will be resolved in Chapter VII. Thanks for your continued support!


	6. Chapter VI - Bugging Out

I nearly freaked out as we entered the Santalune City gym. Like everything else in this world had been so far, the entrance room was the exact same one from the games – dark gray floor with various Bug-Type Pokémon silhouette patterns scattered across it, silver walls lined with paintings of various photographs. There were two very large ones on the far back wall, one of a Metapod camouflaging with a leaf, and one with a Butterfree flying next to a bright yellow flower. There were two statues near the entrance, with the familiar Kalos gym insignia on them, and a man standing next to a large hole in the center of the room. A metal pole led down the hole.

The man wore a white shirt, with red suspenders and bowtie. He had spiky brown hair and looked to be in his forties. "What's the hustle, little Crustle? Welcome to the Santalune City Gym!" he exclaimed, smiling and walking over towards Val, Athena and me. "So, future champ, this'll be the first time challenging a gym, huh? We don't get many females here... or any trainers at all anymore. What's your name, young lady?"

"I'm… Val," Val replied, her voice wavering a little. I could tell she was nervous. Athena shifted uncomfortably on her shoulder.

"Val…" the man repeated. "Good name. Short for Valerie, I presume?"

"Y-yeah," said Val, relaxing a bit.

The man grinned more. "You know one of the gym leaders in our region shares a name with you?"

"Really?" Val exclaimed. "No way! Is it spelled the same way, too?"

"V-A-L-E-R-I-E?" the man spelled out.

"No," Val replied. "Close, though. Mine is "V-A-L-O-R-I."

"I see. Nice to meet you, Valori."

"Same to you," said Val. "Now, what's your na-"

"So, are you thrilled? Are you pumped? You should be! No worries here! You've got Pokémon on your side!" The man laughed. "You'll be fine with that Lucario you've got there! He and your Froakie will be the ones who're gonna do all the battling. Am I right or am I right? Right?"

Now it was my turn to shift uncomfortably. The man turned towards the pole and gestured to it. "Jump on that pole there, and you'll be on your way to where the Gym Leader's a-waitin' for you!"

Excitedly, Val and I stepped towards the pole. The man stopped us quickly though. "Whoops! But wait!" he said. "Before you go, I'm supposed to tell you something!"

We turned back in his direction. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Everybody in this Pokémon Gym uses Bug-Type Pokémon. Got it?"

"Yep. Thanks!" Val answered. "Come on, guys! Let's go!"

Val hopped onto the pole and slid down into the dark hole, Athena barely holding onto her shoulder. [Now how am I going to do this?] I asked myself. [My paws don't grip well…]

I needed to hurry. Quickly, I came up with a plan. I jumped towards the pole and wrapped my arms and legs around it, hugging it close to me as I slid down. Sure, it was a little unorthodox, and probably looked pretty weird to the man behind me, but hey, it isn't stupid if it works.

I slid down for a few seconds before I saw Val below me. "Watch out, Apollo!" she cried. "It's a giant web down here!"

I looked down and, sure enough, I saw the familiar pattern of a sky blue spider web below me. There was a large concentration of webs directly below me that served as a soft landing ground. Val was standing on the edge of it, leaving me ample room to land. I reached the end of the pole suddenly and lost my grip and fell, landing on my back. The web bounced due to my weight. Eventually the bouncing settled down a little, and I looked up from the ground. Val held her hand out for me.

"Come on, Apollo," she said, laughing. "You need a better performance than that for battling!"

I held out my right paw for her to grab. [Oh, shut up,] I retorted jokingly, pulling myself up as she grabbed my arm.

After I had stood up, I looked around the room. A floor of sand was below us. There were several strands of web that snaked out from the center platform we were on, thin ones and thick ones, the latter of which I assumed were safe to walk on. The strands formed a maze of safe and unsafe passageways. The black walls were covered in huge vines snaking all around.

There were a few wooden platforms scattered across the room, with trainers standing on each of them. They looked to be about 10-by-10 feet each. The actual floor began at the end of the room, and there stood a woman who looked all too familiar. It was Viola, the Santalune Gym Leader, complete with shoulder-length blonde hair and a black 35-millimeter camera. Behind her stood a large green tent.

"So we need to make our way over there," Val stated, pointing towards Viola. "Just stay on the thick webs, alright?"

[I-[ I started, but hurriedly stopped myself. Saying "I know" might make Val suspicious. [Got it.]

Val began walking along a thick web to the left. I followed behind her, watching my feet closely so as to not slip and fall down onto the sand below. The web sunk down and bounced up with every step Val or I took, which made travel a little more difficult.

"Woah!" Athena cried suddenly. A rather large bounce from Val made Athena fly off of her shoulder. Instantly, I reached out my arms and caught her. Val gasped and spun around as she heard the events unfold.

"Athena! You okay?!" she called.

"Yeah…" Athena replied.

[She's fine,] I told Val, remembering that she couldn't understand what Athena said. I held Athena out, and she hopped out of my arms and onto Val's shoulder again. [Maybe try not to bounce.]

[Oh, shut up,] Val replied sternly. I could tell that she thought I was funny, even though she didn't show it. We continued walking, Val taking a sharp turn to the right, following the thick web.

"Hey!" called a voice from our left. I looked, and saw one of the many trainers calling us over. "Let's battle!" she cried. "I'll help train you for Viola!"

"Uh… alright," Val replied, turning left and walking towards the platform the trainer stood on.

"I'm Lass Charlotte," the trainer said with a smile as we stepped onto the wooden platform. "It'll be exciting to battle you! Your Pokémon look great!"

"Nice to meet you," said Val. We walked over to the far end of the platform, which was about ten feet away. Charlotte took her place at the end nearest to the web we'd come off of.

"Regular rules. I'll give you 216 Poké if you win. Deal?"

"Sounds great. Let's get started!" Val answered. "Alright, Athena, show them what you've got!"

Athena bounded off of Val's shoulder and onto the wooden platform, stopping a few feet in front of us. I could already tell this battle would be a little cramped. I kept myself on edge, ready to dodge just in case a move went awry.

Charlotte snatched a Poké ball off of her belt, tossing it into the air and catching it again. "Kakuna, it's your turn!" She shouted, throwing the ball at the ground. It exploded in blue light, releasing a yellow, shell-like Pokémon that I recognized to be Kakuna.

"Athena, Bubble! Quick!" Val cried. Athena hurriedly released a Bubble attack, but in her haste, she didn't quite get enough power into it.

I could see what Val was trying to do; she must've studied about cocoon-like Pokémon before. She was trying to take it out before it got the change to use Harden, which would make defeating it more difficult. Unfortunately, her strategy didn't work. The attack hit the Kakuna, but not as powerfully as I knew Athena could pull off.

"Kakuna, Harden!" Lass Charlotte yelled. I saw the Kakuna's shell shine for a second. After the move was over, the shell looked a little sturdier, but not much – after all, Special moves could still damage it quite a lot.

[Try Water Gun,] I advised Val. [It doesn't have to be so quick.]

[Good idea.] "Water Gun, Athena!" Val cried. A burst of water from Athena's mouth was sent at the Cocoon Pokémon, hitting it and making it collapse.

"Alright, Kakuna, return," said Charlotte, obviously miffed, but still excited. She grabbed her empty Poké ball, pressed a button, and the fainted Kakuna was sucked back in with a red beam. Charlotte then reached for her other ball. "Combee, let's go!" she shouted, tossing her other Poké ball at the floor in front of her. Once again, a blue light shimmered, and the honeycomb-like Combee floated in midair in front of Athena, its three faces showing looks of determination.

"Combee, use Bug Bite!" Charlotte called. The Combee zoomed towards Athena, teeth bared. It sank its teeth into Athena's right shoulder just as she was about to dodge the move. "Agh!" Athena cried, recoiling from the move. The Combee flew away, back to its original position. Athena was injured, but not badly.

"Retaliate with Tackle!" Val shouted. Athena bounded at the Combee, hitting it right between the three faces it possessed, splitting and scattering them. They rejoined together rather quickly, however.

Charlotte wasn't about to give up easily. "Bug Buzz!" she called.

"Cover your ears, Athena!" Val yelled before doing so herself. Seeing Athena put her hands on the sides of her head, I hurriedly put my paws on mine, only to realize that my ears weren't there. Too late, I recalled that my dog-like ears were placed on top of my head.

The Combee's mouths opened and produced the most eardrum-rupturing noise I'd ever heard. It was a mix between metal scraping together and a horsefly buzzing around someone's head. "Ow!" I shouted, this time covering my ears for real to prevent them from getting permanently damaged.

Athena seemed to have survived the move. "Water Gun again!" Val cried. Athena's small water beam proved faithful, and the soon the Combee was lying on the ground, obviously too tired to fight anymore.

"Great job!" Val congratulated Athena, who was radiant with joy. "Woo-hoo!" she called, climbing onto Val's shoulder.

Charlotte returned her Combee to its Poké ball. "Congrats!" she stated. "That was a great battle. You're totally ready to take on Viola! Here's your Poké."

Val accepted the money from Charlotte and turned away. "Let's heal you real quick before we continue, Athena. Jump down for just a second, okay?"

Athena nodded, hopping down onto the wood floor. Val reached into her bag and withdrew a Potion. She sprayed it onto Athena and put it back into her bag. "Let's go take on Viola!" she said.

With Athena back on her shoulder, Val continued along the thick spider web, heading towards the area where Viola stood. After several twists and turns, we eventually stepped onto solid ground once more, facing the first Kalos Gym leader.

"Hiya!" she greeted us, holding up her camera. "Smile for a picture!" I heard a click, and Viola moved the camera away from her face, looking at the photo she took on the digital screen.

"Beautiful!" she exclaimed. "Young lady, you've got everything… that determined expression… that glint in your eye that says you're up to the challenge… it's fantastic! Just fantastic!" She had a slight southern accent, which seemed pretty funny to me.

Viola let go of the camera, letting it hang next to her waist. "Is this your first time challenging a Gym?" she asked.

"Yeah," Val answered.

"Fantastic!" Viola looked radiant with happiness. "Whether it's the tears of frustration that follow a loss or the blossoming of joy that comes with victory… they're both great subjects for my camera! Fantastic!"

Val and I gave each other a look. [Does this lady know any other adjectives?] I asked her, vaguely remembering that this was the same speech Viola gave to me when I played Pokémon X.

[Who knows…] Val responded.

"This'll be just fantastic!" Viola continued. "Now come at me! My lens is always focused on victory – I won't let anything ruin this shot! I've got 1,920 Poké on the line!"

Val's eyes widened. "Wow… really?"

"Yes, really! Are we going to get started?"

"Uh… sure!" Val looked at Athena. "Ready?" she asked her.

"Ready!" Athena replied. She hopped down from Val's shoulder once again and got in a fighting stance. "Let's do this!"

Viola grabbed a Poké ball from her waist and threw it onto the ground, exclaiming, "Surskit, you've got this!" The ball exploded in the familiar blue light, and the round blue body of Surskit appeared. "Hurry! Use Agility!"

The Surskit began to jump back and forth, gaining more and more speed each time it did. [Val, you need to have Athena attack it before it raises its Speed too much!]

[Yeah,] Val replied calmly. I was astonished at how focused she was on battle. I'd probably be shaking from nervousness if I was in her place.

"Athena, Bubble!" Val called. Athena jumped in the air and fired a large Bubble at the Surskit. It was unprepared, and was caught by the move.

Val was playing smart. Even though the move wasn't very effective against Surskit, it had lowered its Speed a little. "Follow up with Tackle!" shouted Val.

Athena charged at the Surskit, preparing to ram it. Unfortunately, the Surskit jumped out of the way just in time to avoid Athena's Tackle.

"Mud Shot!" Viola cried. The Surskit took aim and fired a ball of mud from its tiny mouth.

"Watch out, Athena!" Val shouted, an obvious look of worry on her face. Athena hadn't had time to turn around after her failed Tackle attack, and she was caught in the back. She went down immediately, struggling to get back up. After a few failed attempts, she stopped.

"Athena, don't push yourself," Val said somberly. "You won't be able to battle in that condition."

Val ran over and picked up the wounded Froakie, cradling it in her arms. "There's always the next battle." she said to Athena, who was motionless in her arms.

Viola looked at Val with a blank expression on her face. [Man, I can't believe she's not even flinching…] I wondered. [Val's dearest friend just fainted… At least try to say something.]

"Apollo!" Val shouted. I jumped, swerving to face my trainer. A mix of determination and anger was spread across her face. "Get in there. Finish the battle for Athena."

I nodded, walking to where Athena stood to begin the battle. I was getting worried. Val had never actually ordered me to use a move in battle before. I was interested to see what strategy she would come up with.

"Aqua Jet, Surskit!" Viola yelled. The Surskit charged at me, water surrounding it on both sides. I jumped out of the way, avoiding its attack by an inch.

"Nice dodge," Val cried. "Counter with Force Palm!"

[Got it,] I replied. I landed behind the Surskit, pulled my paw back, and thrust it quickly at the blue body of the Pokémon. My move defeated the Surskit quickly.

"Fantastic…" Viola said. "Such a strong Pokémon! Return, Surskit!" Viola used her Poké ball to return her fainted Pokémon, swapping it with another one. "It's your turn, Vivillon!" She threw the ball onto the ground in front of her, and the large, butterfly-like shape of Vivillon came out, its pink wings shimmering.

"Quick! Stun Spore!" Viola shouted. Before I knew it, the Vivillon was right next to me, giggling as it shot spores onto me. I was too late to dodge, and the spores got all over my fur. I tried to brush them off, but I found that I couldn't move.

[I've been Paralyzed!] I realized, starting to panic a little. I did not like the feeling of not being able to move. [Val, you have something to heal me, right?!]

[No, I don't!] Val replied, obviously annoyed at Viola's strategy. [At least, I don't think so! Looks like you're going to have to hang in there while I look, Apollo. Let's try a move.]

"Aura Sphere!" cried Val as she rummaged through her bag. I tried my best to comply, but my body refused to cooperate. I growled. [This is so frustrating. I'm a sitting Duck...lett!]

[Just try to move!] Val said sternly in my mind.

"Bug Bite, Vivillon!" yelled the Gym leader. I desperately willed my body to at least sidestep the incoming attack. At last, just before I was going to get bitten, I flung myself out of the way of the Vivillon, nearly falling off of the wooden platform. I stood up, and my body once again froze.

Val wasted no time complimenting Mein my dodge as I heard her continue to search through her bag. "Try Aura Sphere again!" she said.

I forced my arms to move and put my palms together. Pulling them apart was like trying to drag giant magnets away from each other. Finally, I charged up the ball of aura and released it at the Vivillon. I hit it in the abdomen. It looked injured, but not defeated yet. Once again, my body froze.

"Bug Bite again!" shouted Viola. Vivillon came at me again, and this time I was unable to dodge the attack. I could only watch as its teeth sunk into my shoulder and I growled loudly. It didn't seem to make me that much weaker, but it certainly hurt.

[Wait a minute... I have a Cheri Berry!] Val exclaimed. "Catch, Apollo!"

I forced myself to turn around and catch the small red berry between my paws. I hurriedly threw it into my mouth and chewed. Instantly my Paralyses was lifted and I was able to move freely. [I'm okay now!]

"I'll just Paralyze you again! Stun Spore!" the Gym leader cried. Vivillon came ate me once again.

[Not this time,] I said. I directed my next words at Val. [I'm using Force Palm.]

[Do it!] Val answered.

Drawing my paw back, I charged up my move. Just as the Vivillon was about to spew spores on my again, I threw my palm into its face as hard as I could. It screamed as it was flung backwards and onto the ground. I put my paw down slowly, staring at the Bug Pokémon I had just defeated. Grinning, I turned to face Val. She and Athena were absolutely radiant with joy, Val bouncing up and down and cheering, Athena clutched in her arms and smiling through her pain.

"We did it, Apollo!" Val exclaimed, running towards me. "We won our first Gym battle!"

[Yeah!] I replied. [Man, that was amazing!] Never before had I felt such a rush as Pokémon battling. I thought playing the games was intense, but doing it in real life, as a Pokémon even... there's nothing like it!

"Fantastic!" Viola said behind me. We turned to look at her. She seemed to be unusually happy for losing the battle. She looked Val directly in the eyes. "Just fantastic! Val, you - no, it wasn't just you alone." Viola turned her head and looked at Athena and me in turn. "You and your Pokémon have shown me a whole new depth of field! Let me give you this Badge to represent your victory!"

Viola reached into her pocket and withdrew the badge. It was palm-sized and looked like a golden scarab beetle, with green lines on either side of its body. Viola turned the Bug Badge over to Val, who set it inside of her bag.

"There you go!" Viola continued. "With that, stronger Pokémon will listen to your orders in battle. Yep; even ones you get in trades!"

Viola reached behind her and picked up another item. This one looked like a CD in a case and had a label on it. "And here!" she gave Val the disk and explained, "this TM commemorates your win against a pro photog like me! It's for a move called Infestation. Use it, and it'll be impossible for your opponent to flee from battle!"

[Nice, that could come in handy,] I told Val.

[Maybe,] Val responded. [If only she would hurry... I'm excited that we won, but we need to get Athena and you back to the Pokémon Center. You're both hurt.]

I hadn't realized until then, but my shoulder had been throbbing since the Vivillon had bitten me there. I moved my paw and rubbed the sore area a little, which I quickly realized was a mistake. My shoulder flared up with more pain and I grimaced. Inspecting the area, I saw it was a little bit swollen. [Yeah, I hope she finishes up her speech soon.]

Viola didn't notice what had happened at all. She continued to ramble. "Now then, can you zoom in a bit to check out the tent behind me? Take the stairs that you find beyond it, and you'll be back up to the entrance faster than a flash!"

"Thank you so much!" Val said quickly, relieved that Viola was done talking. She hurriedly walked to the tent, with me behind her, and stepped through the flaps. Sure enough, there was a flight of stairs that curled around to another. We climbed the stairs and came to what looked like a dead end. There was a black wall at the end of the stairs.

"Um... did she tell us the correct way to go?" Val asked. "This looks like it doesn't lead anywhere."

I looked from side to side and made sure no one else was around. Satisfied that no one could hear, I spoke. "No, I'm pretty sure this is the way. Just a second..." I walked over to the wall and pushed it forward a little. The wall seemed to slide out of the way for us, and we saw the room we had come into the gym from ahead of us. The man who had greeted us wasn't there. My knowledge of the Pokémon video games had payed off.

"Wait," said Val, "did we just move one of the paintings we saw earlier?"

"I think so," I replied. We hurriedly ran through the room and out of the gym. The sun was still pretty high, but it was starting to move towards the west to set. We turned right, then left, then left again to enter the Pokémon Center, which was still quite empty.

"Welcome back!" the nurse behind the counter beamed as she called to us. "Need your Pokémon healed again?"

"Yeah, both of them this time," Val answered, setting Athena down on the countertop. Athena flinched as she touched the countertop, still in quite a lot of pain.

"Your Lucario, too?" the nurse asked, withdrawing several Potions and Elixirs to use on Athena. "Did you happen to challenge the Gym?"

"Just got back from there."

"Ooh! Did you win?" The nurse sprayed Athena with the multiple bottles absentmindedly as she waited eagerly for Val's answer.

"Yes! I'm so excited for my first win."

"I'll bet you are. That's only one of... thirteen battles you need to win in Kalos, though."

"Gotta keep working."

"Yeah. I believe in you. You definitely look like a champion!" Tossing the used bottles away, the nurse grabbed more. "Your Froakie's all good. Just the Lucario."

I stepped up to the counter and let the nurse examine my shoulder. "That looks like it might've been a critical hit," she commented, spraying the area with a Potion. The swelling and throbbing died immediately, and my muscles relaxed quite a lot. Next, she handed me the bottle of Elixir to drink. After guzzling it down, I set the bottle on the table and stepped back, feeling refreshed.

Athena jumped back onto Val's shoulder, good-as-new as well. "Take care in your other battles!" the nurse said as we left.

"Thanks!" Val shouted back. We stepped out the door into the evening sun.

[Well,] I said to Val, [where now?]

[Let's look at the map,] she replied, withdrawing the map from her bag.

Going over the map, I saw that we needed to head northwest onto Route 4, then into Lumiose City.

"Lumiose City is our next destination, guys!" Val excitedly stated to us. "Now all that's left is to get goi-"

"VALORI!"

All three of us jumped and wheeled around to the voice who had shouted so loudly at us. As soon as we saw the source of the shout, Val groaned.

It was a man who looked to be in his mid forties, with dirty blonde hair that looked eerily familiar... It was the exact same color as...

"How did you find me?!" Val yelled, obviously annoyed.

"It was simple," the man said, his black shirt contrasting with the buildings behind him. "I just followed the trail of stupidity."

Val's face twisted with anger. [This... is why I left.] she told me.

[Wait, who is is?!] I questioned.

[It's... my dad.]

-END CHAPTER VI-


	7. Chapter VII - Parterre Way

-JULIUS-

"We're almost there!" Dilus stated. He was skipping a few feet in front of Julius. "Come on, Slowpoke! Gotta keep up!"

"I'm just... admiring the scenery." Julius replied. Everything looked so colorful and vibrant in this world - the dark greens of the trees, the reds and blues of the various plants around them all blended together to create an awe-inspiring picture. Even though he couldn't remember his past, he was pretty sure he'd never experienced nature this beautiful.

Julius and Dilus had been continuing through the forest for about two hours. The first of the two was beginning to get tired of just walking, so he was taking the hike slowly, soaking in all the details of this new world.

"We can look at the plants later! I hafta show you my home first!" continued Dilus, turning around and beckoning for Julius to run next to him. He seemed to have endless amounts of energy.

"Oh... fine." Julius playfully ran to catch up to the Totodile, swinging his flame-tipped tail to avoid catching the various shrubbery on fire. His new feet were a little difficult to get used to, but it got easier with almost every step he took. The claws, both on his feet and hands, would probably prove the most difficult to break into, Julius thought.

Now the pair were walking alongside each other. The arrangement didn't last long, however, as Dilus suddenly stopped. "Oh, no..."

"What is it?" asked Julius.

"This... it's an entrance to a mystery dungeon." Dilus pointed forwards.

It looked like an archway made of branches. Through the archway, there was a winding dirt path. On either side of it, a wall of dense foliage and trees stretched out for farther than Julius could see. "Mystery Dungeon?" he asked. Suddenly a faint impression hit his mind. It was almost as if the words were... familiar to him, somehow. Like he'd heard them before, but never knew the definition.

"Yeah, a Mystery Dungeon. This is the entrance to the Lush Forest, in fact. I take it, since you're a human with no memories, you don't know what a Mystery Dungeon is?"

Julius didn't dwell on the small feeling any further. "I've got no clue."

Dilus gestured toward the archway. "'Kay, so... when you walk into a mystery dungeon, you can't come back out the way you came in - you need to continue deeper into one until you reach the exit. There are stairways on each floor that we need to find. But the tricky thing is, the layout changes every floor you go up or down. They're pretty cool and fascinating places that house lots of treasure, but they're also filled to the brim with enemy Pokémon."

"Woah..." Julius was in awe. The whole concept sounded pretty amazing, but the enemy Pokémon worried him, especially because he'd had no experience in battle.

"There's no way around it, though... We'll have to go through."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Of course! You wanna get to Serene Village, right? Let's go!"

Dilus snatched Julius by his hand, dragging him through the archway and down the dirt path. When Julius looked back, the archway had vanished, replaced with a leafy hedge. [Oh, geez, what have I gotten myself into?!]

"Come on, let's get through this place as fast as we can." stated Dilus, starting down a path that turned left. Julius followed closely behind, nervously glancing from side to side trying to spot other Pokémon. All he could see for many yards were trees, however. "How long will it take us to get out of here?"

The Totodile giggled. "Depends on how fast we move. Come on!" Dilus began to sprint down the path. Surprised, Julius ran to keep up with the energetic Pokémon.

The pair came to a fork in the path. Dilus peeked down the left path and, seeing nothing, switched his gaze to the one on the right. His face lit up and he grinned, showing off his rather sharp teeth. "Uh... what's up?" asked Julius.

Dilus turned his eyes to Julius. "There's an enemy Pokémon heading this way."

"And that's a good thing?!"

"Yeah, it means I get to teach you how to fight!"

Fear struck Julius like ice water. "W-wait - fight?!" He whimpered unexpectedly.

"Yeah. You probably don't know how as a human without any memories, so I'll teach you! It's not as scary as it seems."

"But I don't even know the first thing abou-"

"Then I'll teach you. Get over here." Trembling, Julius creeped slowly closer to where Dilus stood between the two paths. Finally, Julius stood, shaking, next to the Totodile.

"Come on, it's only a Wurmple. Look," Dilus explained, pointing a blue claw down the right path. Julius peeked through the trees and, when he saw his soon-to-be opponent, he relaxed slightly. It was, living up to its name, remarkably like a worm. It had a pale red back and creamy-white underbelly, with several tiny spikes jutting out from its sides. The Wurmple had two large, blue eyes that seemed almost out of place on the front of its head. The Pokémon was nibbling at a leaf on the ground, making little noise.

"Okay... doesn't seem too bad..." Julius admitted. Suddenly he felt Dilus shoving him down the path, towards the enemy Pokémon. "Wha- hey!"

"You can do this! Just remember two things - remain calm and focus on the move you want to use!"

"Move? Calm?! Wait just a minute!" Soon, Julius stood feet from the Wurmple in front of him, with Dilus behind him saying, "get its attention!"

"Why?!" Julius shouted back, a little too loudly. The Wurmple reacted to his cry and charged. "Woah!" Julius jumped out of the way with astonishing speed. He looked behind him at the red worm, which glared at him. "How did I do that?!"

"It's instinct! Now attack him!" Dilus instructed Julius.

"What do you mean, 'attack'?! How?!"

"Oh, you're impossible - think of a move you want to use! You're a Charmander; try Scratch!"

The Wurmple was rapidly coming towards Julius again. Frantic, Julius repeated the word in his mind. [Scratch. Scratch!]

"SCRATCH!" he yelled. Out of nowhere, his body reacted, sprinting at the Wurmple as it came at him. Seconds before the two Pokémon collided, Julius raised his orange arm and, looking the other Pokémon in the eyes, brought his claws down on its back. It face-planted into the ground, unmoving.

There was silence for a few moments. Other than Julius panting heavily and the leaves swaying in the trees, nothing made a sound. Then, to Julius's left, Dilus began clapping. "That was a one-hit KO! Nice job for your first battle!"

Julius looked at the Totodile, who was radiant with joy. "Little rusty with the execution, but tons of power! You're gonna be so strong if you keep training!"

Even though he was overcome with emotions of his first battle, primarily fear, Julius couldn't help but feel satisfaction in what he'd done. "Yeah, I guess it was pretty nice. I don't even feel that tired, actually."

Dilus walked and stood next to Julius. "Well, yeah. You can still use Scratch, like, twenty more times."

"I hope I don't have to..."

"Come on, let's continue! I'll take the lead for now. Watch our rear and warn me if there's a Pokémon coming."

Dilus began walking down the path the Wurmple came from, stepping around it laying in the dirt. Julius followed, hoping the poor thing wasn't too badly hurt.

Soon the pair had made several left and right turns. Julius was already getting confused about where they were going. "What did you say we had to find again?"

"Stairs. And I'm pretty sure they're... this way!" Dilus came to a four-way intersection and turned right. Fifty paces afterwards, they turned left again and, sure enough, there was a set of dirt stairs that looked like they led to nowhere.

"Come on!" Dilus said happily. "These things are cool!" He began to climb the stairs. Each step was abound half the size of either of them, so they had to use their arms to push themselves up. Eventually they got to the second-to-last step.

Dilus stopped Julius, who was getting sore. "Watch what I do." Dilus climbed the last stair, jumped off the other side, and disappeared.

"Wait, what?!" Dilus had disappeared right in front of his eyes. "Do I have to jump too?"

Hesitantly, Julius clambered up the final step, then stared down at the ground below. "It's pretty high up... How did he disappear.? Was it the way he jumped...?"

[You're thinking too much, Julius,] the Charmander said to himself. [Just jump off.]

Without further thought, Julius bent his knees and bounded off of the staircase. Just as gravity began to take hold, a cold wind swept over Julius and blackness engulfed him.

"Woah!" he shouted, looking around for what had caused this. After a few more seconds, his feet landed on solid ground, and Dilus stood before him.

"You did it! Nice job!" Dilus clapped him on the back. "Welcome to Lush Forest, Floor 2."

Looking around, Julius saw the same landscape as where he'd come from, except the path looked slightly different. "This is two?! Out of how many?!" Julius asked, astonished there could be multiple distinct "floors" in a forest.

"I'd say maybe six or seven... won't know for sure till we get out!" With that, Dilus ran down the path, quickly searching for a way to the stairs.

"Oh boy..." Julius sighed, following reluctantly and checking for enemy Pokémon behind him.

-APOLLO-

[Your dad?!] I was really confused. Wasn't this the person Val had run away from? And how had he found us?!

[Yes, my dad. When I tell you, growl at him.]

[Wait, wha-]

"You insubordinate little..." Val's dad began. "I... I can't even find words. You were told to never set foot outside the town! To forget those foolish dreams of becoming a trainer! And now you're here, using two Pokémon to win you glory!"

"You can't just keep me cooped up in a tiny village, dad! Why are you so against me going on a journey? I want to see what the world has to offer!"

"What it has to offer is nothing but pain! And if you want to make it to the Pokémon league, you're going to need more than two Pokémon."

"I was going to catch some before our first gym battle, but-"

"But what, Valori?"

Val's tone changed dramatically. She knew she was going to get tormented for her answer. "I... forgot."

"You forgot." Val's dad stated flatly. "See, it's these kind of rash decisions that will break you, Val. You can't forget things. You can't afford to become overconfident, which is what you've just done!"

"No!" Val shouted suddenly, startling both me and Athena. "I have Pokémon by my side! With these two, I can survive anything! Do anything!" [Growl, now!]

I wasn't quite sure how I did it, but I managed to produce a growl aimed directly for Val's father. He caught on, but wasn't intimidated in the slightest. "That Lucario seems to agree with you." He was silent for a few moments. "Well, I can't stop you now; you've already got one gym badge. You have to finish now." His next words came out somewhat nonchalant. "Just remember, Valori: this world is more evil than you realize. Hate is everywhere. Be careful not to be consumed by it."

Val, Athena and I all looked at Val's father as if he were crazy. Out of nowhere, the man clapped his hands together. "Well, gotta run. Best of luck to you!"

"Wait, dad? What in the-?!" Val tried to stop him, but he was already running as fast as he could in the other direction. Before he was out of my sight, however, I felt something tingling. I felt once more the dark aura, as if we were being watched. As soon as Val's father was gone, though, it disappeared.

We were all quiet for some time, wondering what in Arceus' name could warrant his sudden change of mood. "Come on," spoke Val finally. "Let's go."

I was going to ask a few more questions, but I restrained myself. Something told me Val didn't want to be bothered at the moment. Passing the Roselia statue in the center of town, we made our way towards Route 4. "Come look at the map with me, Apollo," Val said.

I stood next to her as she unfolded the map. She pointed to Santalune City, then traded her finger along a line that moved northwest. "Here's Route 4 - Parterre Way. As you can guess, it's pretty much a garden, with quite a few Pokémon living in the flowers and bushes there. We need to go through there to get to Lumiose City. There are also trainers along the way, so if the need arises, we can battle them. Cool?"

"Yep!" Athena agreed. [For sure.] I said, nodding my head.

"Great." Val folded up the map and put it inside her bag again. "If all goes well, we'll be in Lumiose City by sundown. Who knows, maybe we can catch another Pokémon while we're at it."

After a few minutes of walking, we were standing at the exit of Santalune City, leading into Route 4. It looked quite beautiful, adorned with sun-yellow and crimson flowers, along with waist-high hedges that snaked around to form miniature mazes. A large dirt path ran down the center of all the greenery. In the distance I could see yet another fountain, this one much more massive and extravagant, though I couldn't make out the minor details. There were a few people scattered here and there as well.

"Let's look at the flowers," Val said, which snapped me out of my observational trance. She stepped off of the red stone tiles of the city and onto the dirt path, heading towards a clump of red flowers. I was able to smell their indistinguishable odor from quite far off, thanks to my new nose. "These are amazing!" Val clutched the stem of one and brought the bud closer to her face, sniffing it. "Man, flowers just smell so nice... instant stress relief." Athena did the same thing, grinning at the sweet aroma.

I was about to comment more on the subject, but a movement behind Val made me change topics rapidly. [Behind you!] I told her.

She whirled around just as a furry pink Pokémon leapt out of the flowers, baring its teeth and landing between her and me. It looked remarkably like a cat, with a dark purple tail that had pink fluff on the end of it. It stood quite a bit taller than Athena, who was only about a foot tall. "What Pokémon is that?!" Athena cried, holding onto Val's shoulder tightly and shaking with fright. I translated Athena's question for Val, who quickly withdrew her Pokédex and pointed it at the creature. "Skitty," she read. "Nice name."

The Skitty hissed, then pounced once again at Val. She sidestepped, then picked up Athena. "Let's take down this Skitty, Athena!"

"Uh... o-okay," Athena whimpered. She was obviously quite nervous; she'd probably never seen a Pokémon like Skitty before. Val sat Athena down facing the wild Pokémon, which was peeking out of the flower stems.

Val quickly started the battle. "Athena, Bubble!" Athena hesitantly fired a Bubble, which was easily dodged by the Skitty. It jumped out of the flowers, running a zig-zag pattern at Athena. The poor Froakie was too terrified to move, and the Skitty hit her with a devastating Scratch. Athena yelled out and hopped behind Val, peeking at the Skitty from behind her legs.

"Athena, what's the matter?" Val asked. "Don't tell me you're scared of this cute little Pokémon."

Val's conversation was interrupted by a little girl's shout "MISSY!" Soon we saw the source of the voice as she came darting out of the flowers: a little girl in a pink dress. Her brown hair flew in front of her face as she bent down to pick up the Skitty as it chanted, "Fight! Fight!" No matter how adorable the Pokémon, sometimes they can be pretty dang creepy, I soon realized.

Val bent down to pick up the terrified Athena. "Is this Skitty yours?" she asked.

"Yeah!" The little girl replied, stroking the Skitty's ears. It purred softly. "I've only had her for a few weeks, and she's gotten away from me a lot!"

Val and I exchanged glances. "Well, good luck taking care of her, " said Val. "She seems... nice."

"I'll try. Nice to meet you!" The little girl turned around and skipped away, avoiding the flowers.

"Well..." commented Val, "That was interesting."

"And scary!" Athena interjected.

I looked towards the fountain, which was still quite a ways away. The sky was beginning to turn orange in the west now. [We'd better keep going. The sun's starting to -]

"Hold on." Val was peering over one of the hedges. "Sweet! There's an item here!" She reached over the hedge and picked something up. "It's a Super Potion!" she exclaimed, tossing it onto her bag. "That's awesome!"

I was starting to get impatient. Don't get me wrong, I like looking in one area and searching for items, but I really wanted to keep exploring the rest of Kalos, especially Lumiose City. The Paris-inspired, brightly lit heart of the region was already awesome in the games, and something told me seeing it for real would be beyond description. [Let's go, or we may not make it before sundown.]

"Okay, bossy," Val jokingly replied, smiling and walking past me towards the fountain. Turning, I followed suit, glad to be moving again. Slowly but surely, we made our way towards the fountain. Val was moving slow to admire the flowers, of which Athena seemed terrified of now.

After a few more minutes, we stood next to the magnificent fountain. The center of it was a tall, circular platform that was twice as high as I stood, with a golden statue of a clam-like Pokémon sitting on top of it. Two similarly-colored Horsea on smaller, green pedestals were spouting water onto the central platform from either side of it, which in turn poured water over its sides and back into the main fountain. Coins were scattered inside the fountain, ranging in size from pennies to larger than quarters.

Val and I looked in awe. Neither of us had seen something like this. "Wow..." was the only word either of us could come up with.

We stared only for a few more minutes before deciding to keep going. The reds and yellows of the flowers were starting to become more scarce, and dusk approached as we got to the entrance of Lumiose City. Gray bricks formed a large archway that, I knew, led into my favorite city in all of Pokémon X and Y.

Athena and Val were quite amazed. They'd never seen such bright or huge city before. "I can see the buildings over the arch!" said Val. "That's amazing..." Athena simply stared, mouth hanging open.

[You ready to go in?] I asked.

"Let's go!" Val replied enthusiastically, and we stepped under the arch.


	8. Chapter VIII - Smoke

Now I've seen big cities. I'll be the first to admit that Lumiose City didn't quite meet up to the grandeur of Los Angeles or New York, but it was still exceptionally huge. The streets were made up dark gray brick, while the sidewalks were a shade lighter. The buildings in front and to the sides of us were at least three stories high, the tallest I'd seen in the Pokémon world so far, and the sunset cast an orange glow off of the windows on them. People walked freely in the middle of the road, carrying shopping bags, phones, and sometimes Pokémon. The building to the front/left of us had a red entranceway, with a small wooden table and a few chairs next to it. I assumed it was a café, one of the many located around the Paris-themed city. The building next to it was similar, but with a black entranceway that had one golden star above the doors. A blue taxi, part of the Lumi Cab Service, I knew, was parked in front of the building, which I deduced was Restaurant Le Nah. It served decent food at a somewhat inexpensive price. There was a small alley that separated the two buildings which led across a canal and to the Eiffel Tower-like Pokémon gym. A sign at the head of the alley blocked anyone going further, the writing on it too far away for me to make out.

"This... this is more than I imagined..." Val simple stared, trying desperately to take everything in. "I've never seen such a small space filled with so much... life!"

"Me neither!" Athena agreed, Turning her head from side to side, examining every inch of the city sprawled ahead of her.

[I've seen bigger,] I said to myself, [but this is definitely really cool.]

Turning to look at Val, I noticed that she seemed exasperated. "I don't... I have no idea what to do first! What should we do, you guys?" She looked at Athena and me.

"I want food!" shouted Athena, nearly bouncing off of Val's shoulder.

[You always want food,] I teased her, smiling.

Athena gave me a dirty look. "Hey!"

"Play nice, you two," Val interjected. "I'm thinking that we eat first, and then we can go find somewhere to sleep."

Athena was overjoyed. "Yay!" she yelled, actually jumping off of Val's shoulder onto her head. Val ignored her and looked at me.

[What did you say to her?] she asked in a very serious tone.

[It was just a joke! I was only teasing,] I attempted to defend myself.

Val gave me a look that said "uh-huh, sure," before she turned away and began walking down the street towards Restaurant Le Nah. Slightly annoyed, I followed her. [She clearly loves her Pokémon dearly.]

-APOLLO-

As we entered the restaurant, we saw an old-looking man standing behind a somewhat plain wooden counter, with a clipboard and bell sitting on the top of it. He wore a simple purple suit and bow tie. To the right there was a hallway, from which the sounds of forks scraping and people conversing could be heard. He saw us enter and, strolling out from behind the counter, gave a warm smile and exclaimed: "Welcome to Restaurant Le Nah. Our flavors will never overwhelm your palate."

"Thanks! We'll be dining today." Replied Val, sifting through her bag to find some money.

The man nodded. "We're offering the Double Battle meal today."

Val seemed intrigued by this. "That sounds good. We'll have that!"

"Wonderful! That meal comes to... 2,700 Poké. Will you be joining us then?"

My eyes widened at the sound of the bill. How could anyone charge that much for a meal?! I looked at Val, almost panicked, but she had a calm expression on her face. "Sound like a deal!"

[I've been saving up to come to this place for years now,] commented Val in my head. [I never thought I would actually get here! This is amazing!]

"Well, I'm delighted to hear it." The man turned towards the hallway, gesturing a hand towards it, and said: "Please follow me this way."

[There's no way Val could've saved up that much Poké when she wasn't allowed to battle,] I thought. [I guess money isn't worth as much in the Pokémon world...]

Val followed the man through the hallway, me following close behind. When we passed through the hallway, we saw several rows of rectangular wooden tables, lined with plates and glasses full of food and drink. People talked and laughed together. Music played quietly in the background, reminiscent of the kind of music they play at Olive Garden. Eventually the man led us to a round table at the far end of the room. He sat Val down, then walked down a hallway behind us that led, I assumed, to the kitchen.

I stood awkwardly, not sure what to do. Was I just going to be standing here while Val ate her meal? Would they even serve Pokémon here?

One of my questions was soon answered as Val saw the confused and worried expression on my face. "Don't worry, Apollo. We'll have plenty to do in just a moment."

At first I was puzzled, until I remembered what Val had ordered for her dinner.

[You mean... We're going to battle? In the restaurant?!]

[Yes, silly. Now let's wait for the guy to come back.]

I had no idea that they let you battle in the cafés in the Kalos region. I had never gone inside the restaurants of Lumiose when I played the games, but now, if I ever got back to my world, this would be something to check out.

Eventually, I saw one of the chefs come out from a door down the hallway, bearing a silver platter. He set it down on the table. "Your entrée today, ma'am... Enjoy a handpicked salad, fresh from the garden."

"Alright, let's battle!" Val exclaimed. Athena hopped off her shoulder and stood next to me. The chef walked away from the table a couple of paces and exclaimed, "it's dinner time, Pansear and Pansage!" He reached behind him and procured two Pokéballs, throwing them at the ground. Out one came a red, monkey-like Pokémon that had a fire-like design on its head. Out of the other was a similar, but green, Pokémon, which had a plant on its head.

"Apollo and Athena, you two've got this!" She pointed at us, and we stepped forward to face our foes.

"Hurry, Pansage! Bullet Seed on that Froakie!" the chef shouted. The Pansage immediately jumped forward and fired a barrage of small brown seeds from its mouth. Athena managed to jump to the side and avoid most of them, but a few caught her on the foot. "Pansear, Ember on the Lucario!"

The Pansear hopped towards me and fired a small ball of flame directly at my face. I was too stunned by the sudden attack to dodge, and was hit right in the nose. I put my paws to my muzzle, growling as the heat singed it. Shaking it off quickly, I got back into a battle stance.

Val wasted no time. "Athena, Bubble on the Pansear. Apollo, Bone Rush for the Pansage!"

[Wait, since when did I know Bone Rush?!] I questioned Val.

[No time to argue. Just do it!]

I concentrated on doing Bone Rush, and instantly blue aura focused around my paw into the shape of a bone. I charged at the Pansear and smacked it repeatedly with the bone. I managed to land three hits before it ducked away. It looked winded, but not done fighting yet.

Meanwhile, Athena had launched a dozen bubbles at the Pansear. About five of them made contact, but that was all it took. The Pansear wavered back and forth on its feet before collapsing.

The chef returned his fainted Pokémon to its ball. "Pansage, Vine Whip! Take out that Froakie!"

Roaring, the Pansage made a whip appear from nowhere and slammed Athena across the face with it. She stumbled back with a cry of pain, clutching her face. She wasn't down yet, but the attack had done some damage.

"Athena, Tackle!" Athena sprinted towards the Pansage and slammed into it as hard as she could, which sent it flying. "Follow with another Bone Rush, Apollo!" I charged at the Pansage as well, feeling the same energy in my paw, and slammed the bone into the Pansage four times before it collapsed as well.

Val was elated at this. "Well done, you two! Looks like we won!" she exclaimed behind me. The Pansage was down for the count, it seemed. The chef picked up his fainted Pokémon in his arms. Looking at Val, he nodded. "Your Pokémon are really powerful. Keep up the good work!" He handed Val some coins and walked back to the kitchen without another word.

"That's one battle down, you guys!" Val muttered excitedly as she sat down in her chair again. She lifted the cover off of her platter and looked at her salad. It looked like a typical Caesar salad, with a different kind of dressing that looked a little more shiny to me.

Just looking at the salad made my stomach cry for something to eat. [When will we get our food?]

[After the third battle, I think...] Val replied absent-mindedly as she chewed on her salad.

[Aw, man,] I thought to myself. [I could really use a pick-me-up before the next battle.] I thought for a few moments before speaking to Val again. [So... how do I know Bone Rush?]

[I thought Pokémon inherently knew all their moves,] Val questioned, lifting another forkful of salad to her mouth.. [but whatever. I was reading your specific Pokédex entry and it said you know Force Palm, Meteor Mash, Aura Sphere, and Bone Rush.]

[Interesting...] I looked down at my paws, deep in thought. [So those are my four moves... I'll have to come up with some battle strategies and combos sometime... if they're legal to use in a battle, of course.]

As Val finished her salad, a different chef came from the kitchen. He looked the same as the first, but slightly skinnier and taller. He was also carrying a platter.

"You're soup, ma'am..." he said as he set the platter on the table. "Condiments were added with great restraint so that you could truly savor its natural flavor."

Val stood again. Once again, the chef backed up a few steps and sent out his Pokémon. He sent out another Pansear, but accompanied with a Panpour this time. It was a light blue version of the other Pokémon next to it, with a waterfall-like design on its head.

"Athena, Bubble on the Pansear. Shoot an Aura Sphere at that Panpour, too, Apollo."

Both of us complied and, this time, the two Pokémon were down instantly. [Dang,] I thought, [these guys aren't very good... no wonder they're called Restaurant Le 'Nah']

The chef went through the same routine - picking up his fainted Pokémon, handing Val some money, and retreating back to the kitchen. Once more, Athena and I watched Val eat the soup, both of us feeling slightly annoyed that we wouldn't be getting our food sooner.

Soon, Val finished her soup, and a third cook came out of the kitchen. This time, he was bearing three platters - a large one and two smaller ones. "Your main course, ma'am... The fish was caught just this morning and has been delicately breaded and panfried. You're Pokémon get slightly smaller helpings of the same dish. Is that alright?" He asked the question as he set the three platters on the table.

Val nodded and stood up."Of course!" The chef stepped back and threw his two Poké balls. This time, it was Panpour and Pansage. Before Val could react, the chef yelled his orders. "Pansage, Bullet Seed on the Froakie! Panpour, send a Waterfall that Lucario's way!"

[Wait, what?!] I had no time to dodge as the Panpour was enveloped in a cloak of water, jumped above me, and sent the water crashing down on my head. It took most of my strength to keep standing during the attack. [This Panpour knows Waterfall?! That's not fair!]

I didn't see what happened with Athena, but after the water stopped slamming on my head and I could see her, I assumed she was hit with the Bullet seed several times in the legs and arms.

[Great, now my fur's all wet...]

Val wasn't phased. "We're not done yet! Tackle on the Pansage and Aura Sphere on the Panpour!"

We both reacted quickly, Athena jumping forwards and me putting my hands together. Our attacks both missed, however, both monkey-like Pokémon rolling sideways to avoid them.

I jumped to the side to avoid a Bite from the Panpour. "Counter with Force Palm, now!" I spun around and slammed my palm into the Panpour's back just as it slid to a stop on the floor. It was sent crashing into the ground, but it stood back up after a second, although slightly dazed.

Meanwhile, Athena was handling herself well with the Pansage. She had Tackled it a few more times, and it was starting to look dizzier by the second. "Try Aura Sphere and Tackle again!" called Val. We did as instructed. The Panpour I was fighting dodged at the last second, but the Pansage was flown against a wall and didn't move.

Frustrated, I let out a growl of disapproval. Val heard my annoyance. "Don't get frustrated, Apollo! We'll win this!"

[I just want my food...] I said bitterly in my head as Val told me to charge another Aura Sphere. This time before I threw it, I saw the Panpour twitch slightly to my right. Sensing it would dodge that way, I fired the ball of aura to the right of the Panpour. My guess proved correct, as the Panpour dived directly into the path of the Aura Sphere, which hit dead on. The Panpour fell to the ground, unable to fight any longer.

For the third time, the chef grabbed his fainted Pokémon, paid Val, and walked away to let us enjoy our meal.

Val lifted the covers off of mine and Athena's platters first. I looked down at my meal in earnest. It was a 4-inch piece of fish that looked like a a fancier, not-deep-fried version of a Fish Filet you could get at McDonalds. It had seasoning on top and a chopped-up Cherri Berry on the side. I picked up the fish, not caring if it was a Magicarp or anything else, and took a large bite. The taste was a little bland, not unlike my mom's cooking, but I was so hungry I didn't really care. I didn't even notice that my fur had dried out very quickly.

After we had eaten our fill, the guy who greeted us when we entered the restaurant returned. "'How did you enjoy your meal, madam?"

Val smiled brightly. "It was really good, thanks!"

"Glad to hear that," the man replied. "Here is your desert and, of course, your receipt. We hope you will visit us again..." The man set down a bar of chocolate and a small piece of paper before he walked away.

"Should we leave a tip, guys?" Val asked.

I secretly rolled my eyes. They underpay servers in the Pokémon world, too? [Eh, why not. It was good service.]

Val put five coins on the table before picking up the chocolate bar and the receipt. "I've heard that this place's chocolate is really good. It's shipped to most every other region in the world, except for Alola."

Alola? What in the world was that?

I decided to question Val about it as we walked out of the restaurant. [What's the 'Alola' region?]

Val turned her head towards me as we turned left and headed towards what I knew to be North Boulevard. [It's a new region that we just had contact with a month ago,] she explained. [It's apparently made up of mostly islands.]

As we turned right and walked down the street, I began pondering the new region. I smirked slightly as I talked to myself. [Alola... I wonder if there are new main-series Pokémon games featuring that region now...]

I looked up into the sky. The sun had set, and it was getting darker by the minute. Val seemed to notice as well. "Better find some place to stay before it gets too dark outside."

[Yeah.]

We walked down the street for a few more minutes, passing several other cafés before coming upon a rather large building. It was black in color, six stories tall and had a sign that said "Hotel Richissime".

"I guess this is where we stay for tonight," Val sighed in relief. " That's good. I didn't think we'd find a hotel before it got dark."

As we began walking towards the entrance to the hotel, I began to feel a bit weird... almost anxious. [I haven't slept inside a building since I've been turned into a Lucario... I can't even remember how long ago that was... a week?]

Pushing those thoughts away, Val, Athena, and I walked into the grand hotel of Lumiose, eager to get a good night's rest.

-JULIUS-

"Man... what a rush!"

"I dunno..."

"Aw, come on, you enjoyed that a little."

Dilus and Julius had just come out the exit of Lush Forest. It had taken six floors to reach this point. The pair had been in the dungeon for about an hour, and both were exhausted and out of breath from fighting and running. They'd decided to sit down on the grass in front of the exit and catch their breath.

"I guess so... thanks for teaching me, Dilus."

"Just call me Dil," Dilus stated. "That's what all my friends call me."

"Oh... alright."

[Does that mean he considers me a friend now?] thought Julius.

The two sat in silence for a few more moments. Then Dil looked up, smiled, and pointed towards a nearby mountain. "See that cave over there?"

Julius followed Dil's claw and saw a large, dark hole in the side of a mountain, about a hundred yards away. "Is is another mystery dungeon...?" he said, a little glumly.

Dil put his arm down. "Actually, that's just a regular cave. We walk through it for about ten minutes and then we get to a cliff that overlooks my village!"

"Okay. I'm actually excited to see a village of Pokémon... or any village, really..."

"Well..." said Dil as he stood up," let's not waste any more time!" He began to walk towards the cave. Julius stood and joined the Totodile. As they came up to the entrance of the cave, Julius peered in but saw only darkness.

"Are you sure it's safe in there?" he asked.

"Of course!" replied Dil. "Your eyes will adjust."

The pair stepped quickly through the cave entrance, the darkness engulfing them both. They walked for about two minutes, neither able to see. True to Dil's word, however, Julius's eyes were soon able to make out the walls of the cave.

"Keep close to me," Dil whispered on Julius's left. The Totodile continued stepping, the claws on his feet making small *click* noises on the stone floor of the cave.

Julius and Dil walked in silence for several minutes, the only sounds being their feet on the stone floor and the occasional drip of water. Roughly five minutes into the cave, Dil spoke up, mainly to pass the time. Julius was startled, accustomed to the quiet of the cave.

"So... do you like it here in the Pokémon world?"

Julius was astounded at the question. [I haven't even been here for two hours! Why's he asking me this?!... I don't really have anything to compare it with... so...?]

"I mean, it's... beautiful, at least," he said after quite a bit of thought. "I'm not sure I liked all the fighting, but I think, so far, it's pretty cool."

"Yes! I knew you'd like it!" Dil sounded extremely happy. [He's... really positive,] thought Julius. [A lot more than me, it seems...]

Both walked in silence for a few more minutes before Julius noticed something odd. It was a strange smell, something he was sure he recognized, but he couldn't quite point it out. He knew he'd smelled it before, but the name, he presumed, had slipped his mind along with his other memories. Confused, he asked Dil if he could smell it as well.

Julius heard Dil sniff the air. "Yeah, actually... is that... smoke?"

Instantly, something clicked in Julius's mind. [Of course! Why didn't I remember that?... So that was lost along with my other memories... I wonder what else I've forgotten? But what could the smoke mean?]

"But why smoke?" Dil questioned, repeating Julius's thoughts. "I've never smelled smoke in this cave before..."

Only moments passed before Dil and Julius were met with another oddity - the sound of cracking and burning that invariably accompanied...

"Fire," mumbled Dil, so quietly Julius almost couldn't hear it. "No, no, no... it can't be..."

All of a sudden Dil broke into a sprint, catching Julius off guard. "Wait, what's going on?!" he shouted, running to catch up to the Totodile.

Dil somehow managed to gain even more speed as panic shot through his system in waves. Soon they saw light in front of them a ways, although it wasn't the blueish-white light of mid-afternoon they were expecting. It was red, a vibrant, almost beautiful shade of red, but for some reason it chilled Julius to the bone.

Half a minute later the two burst from the entrance to the cave and, true to Dil's word, they were on the edge of a cliff, grass beneath their feet, with a path that curved slightly downwards to their left. The air around them was thick and hot, with smoke everywhere.

Unfortunately, they had discovered the source of the fire.

It seemed as if the entire village Julius had described was engulfed in a lake of flames. The whole village was contained in a small, bowl-shaped valley, and it was surrounded by massive trees. Julius assumed that it was a humble village, and a pretty one, but the fire was tearing it to pieces. The few houses and buildings the village contained were burning to the ground, pieces of wood breaking off and slamming into the ground occasionally. Julius could see the light gray bricks of the streets being charred by the hungry flames.

And all the while, Dil was sobbing. "No... no..."

Julius had no clue what to do but to go over to his new companion and place an orange, clawed hand on his shoulder. At first, Dil shrugged it off, but Julius persisted, and for a minute the pair simply stood, Dil crying and Julius feeling as if he were about to burst into tears himself. He felt compassion for his new friend. After all, what if it was *his* home that was engulfed in fire?

Then, a voice broke through the thick flames.

"Dil...!"

Dil jerked involuntarily at the sound of the voice. "Wha..."

The voice coughed before calling again. "Dilus!" It sounded deep and rough, and seemed to be coming from the path on the left of the two.

Once again, Julius took off running, following the voice. "Dad?!" Julius followed as quickly as he could.

A few moments later, Julius spotted a shadow directly ahead of them in the smoke. It was significantly taller than he was, and just looking at it sent shivers up his spine. It was obviously a strong Pokémon and, if it was an enemy, would knock the two out instantly. However, based on Dil's reaction to the shadow, the opposite was true.

"DAD!" he shouted.

"DILUS!" The shadow soon came into clearer focus and Julius saw a massive Pokémon. It had the same scale color as Dil, but with longer limbs, a more rounded-off snout, and red spikes starting on the top of its head all the way down its spine to its tail. The scales on its knees seemed to poke out a bit, seemingly more hard and sturdy. A few of its teeth jutted out from its lower jaw, appearing even sharper than Dil's.

As soon as the Feraligatr made eye contact with the Totodile, he held out his arms and grinned. Dil jumped into his father's arms, and the two exchanged a heartfelt hug while Julius stood about five feet away, sheepishly eyeing his feet.

"I'm so glad you're not dead..." the Feraligatr said softly.

"You too... dad..." whimpered the Totodile. Eventually the Feraligatr set his son back on the ground. "Now, we will discuss where you've been later. But right now, you need to come with me."

"Wait, dad, what's going on? Why is..." Julius coughed before continuing. "Our village..."

"I don't have time to explain!" the Feraligatr snapped. "We need to go, now!" Suddenly, he spotted Julius. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Who are you? Never seen you around here before..."

Julius was about to speak before Dil piped in ahead of him. "That's Julius!" he explained, and Julius waved at the Feraligatr and smiled awkwardly. "I met him as I was about to... -*cough cough*- travel back through Lush Forest."

"Oh." The Feraligatr eyed Julius for a few more seconds before he smiled. "Nice to meet you, Julius. I would introduce myself, but we really must get going."

Before any could move, however, Dil collapsed onto the ground, coughing sporadically. "Dil!" the Feraligatr cried, bending over and picking up his son. "The smoke... it'll... -*cough cough*- kill us if we don't move!"

Julius hadn't even noticed that he'd started coughing as well. The Feraligatr saw this and ran to the Charmander, grabbing him. He sprinted, holding the now-unconscious Dil on his right shoulder and the human-turned-Charmander on his left. The last thing Julius remembered before fainting was coughing once more and disappearing into the blackness of the cave once again.

-CONTINUED IN PART IX-

Author's Notes: I deserve to die for getting this chapter out so late. So sorry to keep you all waiting! I'm hoping to start on Chapter IX soon! Thanks for reading my story.


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